Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed
by Sagga Bott
Summary: While Flash tries to get his life back on track new and old enemies make a move on the League, abducting an important member.
1. In Praesenti & Ne Cede Malis

Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Maybe a bit of language.

Summary: While Flash tries to get his life back on track new and old enemies make a move on the league, abducting an important member (guess who? No, seriously)

Disclaimer: The DC characters are not mine. I'm just playing with them. They'll be returned…eventually, not in good condition but that can hardly be blamed on me!

Author's Note: Back for more are you? Mwa ha ha ha haaa. I'm far too lazy to write the whole back-story (again). If you really want to know you can read the a/n in the first chapter of 'Part 0: Shadow of Youth. It's not necessary to read the whole story, though there will be some reference made to it. Anything else you can probably figure out or just chalk it up to artistic licence.

**Prologue - In Praesenti**

_Not too soon…_

Never would they have imagined this. It was barbaric, it was unthinkable, it was personal, and it was effective.

It was perfect.

And he was perfectly shattered.

Was it wrong to see beauty in such frailty? To see strength in such stubbornness? To see art in overwhelming pain?

He didn't think so. Maybe his id had taken over the rest of his psyche or maybe Freud had gotten it all wrong. Honestly, what human could accurately judge humanity when immersed in it themselves? But he, superior to all of them, he had proper perspective. King to subjects, scientist to amoeba, god to mortal…

"You've got quite the fuckin' ego!"

He smiled at his specimen, and then he slapped him hard…

_Soon…_

Never would they have imagined this. It was simple, it was genius, it was personal, and it was effective.

It was perfect.

Of course they were the enemy. They had all the power and answered to no one. The destruction, the violation, the anger shouldn't have surprised them but wasn't it inherent to being a hero that you hope for the best? –either that or they're on the other side of the struggle. Yet here were normal people reaping havoc on someone who'd only protected them and put his life on the line for their benefit.

"'It's against our nature.'" They all turned to Diana. "It's what Luthor said to me. 'Survival is selfish and survival comes first.'"

"If you believe that then you're as bad as he is!" Shayera spat.

Diana, calm even in the face of crisis, faced her and gestured to the images playing out before them. "You can't argue with that."

Multiple screens each showed a different station all running the same story. Judging someone they knew nothing about other than what was written in his records. Interviews of friends turned enemies ran over and over, footage of people breaking in, stealing and fleeing with nobody stopping it, and every nut with a theory about the Justice League and meta-humans got their fifteen minutes of fame.

"They aren't better than us! They have more power but that doesn't make it ok. Who gave them the right or the responsibility? Every dictator had a misguided sense of duty!" All the anchors would just nod in agreement, a look of concerned contemplation on their faces (must have been taught to them at journalism school, Faking Sincerity 101). "No alien can teach us about "HUMAN"ity!"

No, but you could all stand to be taught a lesson in it, thought J'onn.

_Too soon…_

Never would they have imagined this. It was different, it was new, it was so very personal, and it was going to end the same way.

Lovely.

"You haven't learnt a single thing have you?"

"You shouldn't be here."

"I'm you remember. You're not telling be anything I don't already know." He walked around the cave almost identical to his old one. "It's a waste to suffer and then forget the lesson."

"That was your lesson, not mine."

"It was our lesson!" Finally the veneer cracked, just like he knew it would. "I let you go so that you could protect…"

"Protect what?"

He shook his head. "Protect _who_," he corrected. "They were better off with us in power. Peace, for the first time since civilization reared its ugly, self-obsessed head." A half smile twisted his lips. "In the end, we suffered the most. We lost." He stared up at the dark ceiling catching the outline of bats shifting in the darkness. "Lords that we were…"

Arguing with a mirror, somehow it was more productive, more insightful and more disturbing that it sounded.

_Now…_

"You worry like a father." The Green Lantern turned and found the planet's ruler approaching him, a smile lighting his pale grey face. "It's an expression we have here." John nodded, not giving anything away, already feeling too exposed. "Is there something wrong?"

"No. The shield is in place. You'll be protected from the Herret for as long as you maintain the generator."

"I didn't mean that," he said shaking his head, smile still in place. "I have every confidence in your people. I meant about your friend." He gestured to the red spandex clad hero currently playing with a group of youths and seeming to fit right in.

"He always manages to find trouble. I'm just keeping an eye out."

"Of course." The silence extended between them, one a hero in the most obvious sense of the word, the other a leader of a whole planet and many peoples, a hero in his own right. He had a fatherly presence and his open honesty compelled the same from others.

"It's just…things have been rough for him. We nearly lost him, multiple times –feels like we're still loosing him."

His companion nodded in understanding his smile waning. "Perhaps he just needs time?" Time was a difficult concept to grasp when dealing with someone so fast. "But you're worried that the change in him is permanent."

"He's not like he was before," was the vague reply.

"Neither, I'm sure, are you. Change is a bitch isn't it." John was shocked by the language and knew that he must have picked it up from the Flash. "Don't give him too much of a hard time. Youthful exuberance will eventually give way to maturity." They focussed on the group of kids as some particularly loud fracas began, with Flash in the middle of it. "Eventually…"

John was too polite to tell him that he was wrong. This wasn't just "youthful exuberance". It's just the way the Flash was. The Narr leader wasn't entirely wrong though. He felt it creeping upon them, the day when things would be horribly irreversibly altered. He had the feeling Wally would be the first to go. Prior experience also seemed to support that prediction.

Unaware of John's thoughts the Narr leader continued. "For him, one day it will be lost, this way of his. The universe seems to target anomalies are targeted first, because when they break it is always more spectacular –more entertaining." He shrugged off the glare that Green Lantern turned on him. "I'm sorry, but you're angry because you know it's true.

"It's always a struggle. Surviving," he elaborated when it was clear the dark man wasn't following, "with our world, each other, even ourselves. Always, there is conflict and we live and die for it.

"Is it wrong to see beauty in frailty? To see strength in stubbornness? To find purpose in conflict? Of course not. We're all inspired by our imperfection, driven to overcome it."

"Sire," a woman interrupted saving John from what else might have been said. "The Grand Heralds humbly request your presence."

"Please, excuse me."

John sighed in relief when he was once again alone. He resisted completely the urge to sort through the "wisdom" which had been imparted on him. Instead he stepped off the balcony and flew down to stand next to Superman who was also watching the game between the Narr children and Flash.

Superman didn't even acknowledge his presence. Something akin to anxiety was etched into the chiselled Kryptonian face. He could only think that this was what he'd looked like a few minutes ago.

With a smirk John told him, "You worry like a mother."

**End Prologue - At the Present Time**

And so it starts. My muse demanded that this chapter be written like this…sorry (stupid pushy muses). This prologue is really short so I'm posting Chapter 1 with it. So... what you could do is review once now and once after you read Chapter 1. :D

Sagga…

**Chapter 1 - Ne Cede Malis**

The tension in the aircraft was thick and the silence oppressive. Superman was at the controls, Wonder Woman in the co-pilot's seat, the Green Lantern sat in the row behind and across from him was the Flash staring glumly out the window at the clouds they passed over. He absently touched a small cut on his leg and considered how it had all gone wrong and almost ended with a dead president.

It was a simple mission that had escalated into an all out battle for supremacy as rogue factions ambushed the peace talks. It had only been in a show of support that four of the 'Big 7' had attended. They'd been working hard to get the two sides to sit down together and then this happened.

The almost deafening explosion and the shattering glass had announced the start of the attack. Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern and the Flash sprang into action taking out the attackers and protecting the bystanders. Flash had just been returned to full duty and though he proclaimed complete health the others still watched him carefully.

They had only been sending him on baby-sitting missions, as he called them, easy jobs like installing the shield generator on Narr or this one. When the fight had started he knew that it was a chance to prove he could still do this. Flash also knew that if he screwed up he'd never hear the end of it. And of course he'd screwed up but the silence had him a bit confused.

He sighed and slouched further in his seat recalling the stray rocket that had been heading towards the crowd of people he'd been trying to evacuate. By some grace of some god (no doubt Hera in Diana's opinion) the rocket had veered off and impacted the already battered conference building instead of the crowd of people. Unfortunately large chunks of concrete and glass broke off the once magnificent structure and fell towards the dignitaries and media personnel who'd gathered for the historic event. A burst of super-speed and the Flash was able to create a vortex to safely redirect most of the debris to an open area.

What had happened couldn't be his fault. How was he supposed to know that the insurgents would go after the political leaders again? As fast as he was he couldn't be in two places at once. The sound of the gun shot had not even reached his ears before he was taking off to try and intercept the bullet. He thought he would make it in time, save the day like he'd wanted to since he was a kid and like he'd always done since the accident that gave him his speed. But then the world began to blur, the sharp edges of objects became hazy and he felt a familiar but feared crackle of energy.

Survival instinct was the enemy of every superhero -it caused hesitation. And with bullets in flight that was all it took for disaster.

He wasn't fast enough. He didn't do enough. President Urak was dead. Or he would have been if not for the blur of blue and red that caught the bullet before it could do any harm.

Superman had glanced at him as he dropped the flattened bullet to the ground before he took on the attackers. Wally had gone back to work protecting the people putting the disturbing incident out of mind for the time being.

When the commotion had passed they'd caught their breath, accepted the heart felt thanks of the people and when the situation no longer required them they headed to the Javelin. He'd felt their eyes on his back as he walked ahead of them to the craft. It kind of burned and he had to wonder if Supes had accidentally turned up the heat in his vision. Later inspection didn't find any flaming holes or even a scorch mark in his suit so he chalked it up to his imagination. The looks they gave him though were not his imagination. Wonder Woman was full of indignant rage which he wouldn't discover the true cause of until later.

She'd gone off at him first. "You were supposed to protect them!"

Diana didn't accept anything but perfection from herself and others. Being a beautiful, smart, statuesque Amazon Princess could do that. Flash had learnt a long time ago that perfection was far out of his reach. He'd settled for not causing more trouble than he fixed.

"That's what I was doing," He'd replied.

"The President was nearly shot because you obviously weren't doing it very well!"

"Diana that's enough," Superman interjected but his soft steady tone didn't sway her.

"It was a simple task, even for you."

There was something more going on here -Flash could tell. If he'd really screwed up John would have been the first one to let him know but they weren't joining in on this session of Flash-bashing.

"Hey, I don't know what your problem is but I did what I could. I couldn't predict what those psychos would do!"

"You hesitated and if it weren't for Superman there would have been a dead man at your feet." She gave him a condescending glare before she headed for the cock pit. Superman followed a moment later but Flash's eyes followed Diana's retreating back. Had it really been his fault? He felt a heavy hand rest on his shoulder and turned to the glowing green eyes of his friend. They didn't hold any accusations and Flash suddenly felt undeserving of such camaraderie.

"I didn't-"

"It's okay Wally. I know." He gave the red-clad hero a comforting pat on the shoulder and then went to take a seat in the cock pit. Flash had followed sedately.

There hadn't been a word said since then. Wally seemed to be the only one chafing under the strained silence and kept himself busy picking out piece for glass from his stinging wounds. He hadn't noticed them until he sat down and the adrenaline began to wear off.

He yanked out a rather large piece from his arm. Glass was always a problem. At high speeds pebbles, rocks and most debris bounced off him. Glass tended to stab him. It was never more than shallow cuts but it was mighty annoying.

Before he knew it they were arriving back at the temporary base of operations. Not the prettiest sight but it fulfilled its purpose. Superman skilfully landed the craft on the airfield and powered down the engines. He turned to address the rest of the heroes who were unstrapping themselves but found only two of them.

"Where's Flash?"

Lantern looked at him and then slid a meaningful glance at Wonder Woman.

"Right. Stupid question."

They took a moderate pace back to the conference room. They were greeted by some of the other heroes but mostly it was a quiet trip. By now news of what had happened had circled the globe twice over. Superman immediately went to the monitor on the wall and checked the reports. Nothing drastic was being said- just the typical everyday terrorist attack in an unstable area of the world.

"It could have been worse," the Green Lantern commented neutrally.

"We could have done better," said Wonder Woman watching the footage of their fight.

"He did the best he could," John defended. Diana wisely decided not to comment further. The three watched the news play on for a few minutes more before turning it off.

"The important thing is that no one was seriously hurt," Superman concluded.

"Not this time." They all looked up to find Batman's dark shadow in the doorway. "The radical group 'United Peoples Army' has taken credit for the attack and their promising more."

"Then let's take on this 'Army'. We can beat them," declared the resident Amazon.

"You can't beat what you can't see." Batman slid a file across the table to Wonder Woman. She looked at the documents therein. "They blend in with regular citizens because, for the most part, they are regular citizens. A show of force won't change anything. This isn't our fight."

Wonder Woman wasn't convinced. "We just can't stand by and let them kill innocent people."

"We won't let that happen, Diana," Superman assured. "Let's get some rest. We can discuss this at the next general meeting. Until then take a break, we've earned it."

Not easily placated Diana dropped the file on the table and strode out. Even Batman moved out of her way, a motion that didn't go unnoticed by the other two men. Lantern was smart enough not to comment on it and left to go take a shower and get a meal.

The door closed behind John leaving Batman and Superman in the dimly lit room. The man of steel settled heavily into one of the chairs. Batman waited. He'd get the information he wanted sooner or later and he had the patience for either eventuality.

A minute of silence passed before Clark spoke. "Flash hesitated."

"I told you he wasn't ready."

Clark sighed. He wasn't about to rehash this argument. They'd debated for at least an hour about whether Flash should be allowed back on duty. In the end Clark had won (sort of). "We couldn't keep him on restricted duty forever." The expression on Batman's face said that they could do exactly that.

"I've reviewed the footage," Batman stated and Superman wasn't the least bit surprised. "Even under the best of circumstances catching up with a bullet from that distance would be almost impossible, even for the Flash. The only reason you go there in time is because you were closer."

"But it looked like he was going to make it and then he slowed down." When he'd seen Flash coming Superman had nearly stopped but he'd decided to keep going just in case. It was a good thing that he had.

Batman called up a piece of footage to the wall monitor. "Look at this."

It was from a news camera at the event. Because of the commotion the images were shaky but still clear. Flash had just deposited the falling debris away from the group of people. Batman slowed it down when the Flash began running back towards the crowd to intercept a bullet that hadn't yet been heard. As he approached something happened but Clark wasn't sure what. Even in slow motion it took less than one second before Superman appeared and caught the bullet.

"What was that? Something happened to him."

Batman cued and played the footage again this time pausing it in the middle. Where there had once been a red and yellow blur there was nothing but crackles of small, white lightening bolts. Superman's eyes widened.

"The Speed-Force."

Batman cleared the monitor, his point made. "He must have felt it and slowed down."

"He didn't tell us."

"What could you have done, other than worry? Besides if it hadn't been for that rocket he would have been there to stop that bullet."

Superman nodded in agreement. "I know. If Diana hadn't deflected the rocket so carelessly it wouldn't have hit the building. She's usually more careful about things like that."

"I'll talk to her."

Clark waved him off. "Don't bother. She knows. She was really harsh to Flash but she knows he wasn't to blame." Superman rose from his chair somehow how more weary than he was when he first entered.

"You can't let her just go off on people like that."

Superman wasn't surprised by the criticism. Batman always told him when he screwed up but he wasn't usually so harsh on Diana. He thought that she and Bruce had been heading towards some sort of relationship. Not that he worried. If anybody could keep their private and professional lives separate it was Wayne. "She was just feeling guilty. She didn't mean anything by it. We know that."

"Does Wally?"

Now Clark got his point. "I'll get GL to talk to him." He didn't want Flash to beat himself up over something that wasn't his fault and he would talk to Diana about her temper.

A suitable resolution assured Batman walked away without anything further. Superman watched him go wondering about the Dark Knight. It seemed like more than just worry for a fellow league member that drew Batman here. He originally thought that it was worry over Diana but that obviously wasn't the case.

Reading the Batman was a skill Superman was still mastering so what he thought had been concern in his voice couldn't have been. Batman wasn't protective of anyone, least of all the Flash.

Right?

+JLU+

The shower was nice. The left-over pizza was better. The mission had just sucked. First he has to sit there, all quiet and still and then he screws up. If they ever let him out on a mission again it'll be a freaking miracle.

West packed his Flash costume into the back of his closet and changed into some casual but neat clothing. He had to go to work tonight. He was still tired from the mission but with his budget stretched so thin he didn't have much of a choice. Eating as much as he did had a very big down-side: it cost a lot. And the more he used his speed the hungrier he was later.

Speaking of hungry… Wally checked his wallet hoping to have enough funds for take-out. No luck. He only had one dollar and eleven cents.

Wally took out the dollar bill with a disappointed frown. "Damn it, Washington. Why couldn't you be Jackson or one of the other guys?"

The ring of his phone interrupted. "Hello, Wally's Music Emporium."

"What?"

"Oh, hey Fran." He could almost hear her brows rise.

After a dramatic pause she responded. "Wallace. I swear every time I call you get a little more out of touch."

"Coming from anyone else I'd be insulted. But you're more out if it than anybody I know. And I know some out of this world people." The reference to his alien friends was lost on her like he knew it would be.

"Yeah, whatever. Look, be at Pitch tonight. In fact I'm gonna pick you up. Be ready by eight thirty. It's going to be a late night."

"Alright, see ya soon. By the way do you know what president is on a hundred dollar bill?"

"I'll tell you when I see one."

Laughing, Wally hung up. It wasn't necessary for her to pick him up but the alter ego of the fastest man alive did have a reputation for tardiness. "Ironic" didn't quite cover it.

+JLU+

"Well what brings you here my good man?"

The sarcasm was lost on him as his grey eyes shifted around trying to pick out the forms hiding in the shadows. "Just wanted to update you on something information I've come across."

"Well don't keep me in suspense."

He pulled out some papers and a picture. "Meet 'Wally'."

There were a few seconds of scrutiny. "This is a child."

"This is the Flash's son, or nephew or something."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I saw him. I met him! He's just like the Flash but just young. I haven't seen him around lately but I guess he's back with his family."

"I'll look into it." The papers were collected and handed off to someone in the darkness. "Why are you still here?"

"I want to discuss my 'benefits'."

"They're non-negotiable."

"Wait! I'm the one getting you their secrets. I think I deserve hazard pay!"

"You deserve what you get." The tone carried a threat and he backed down. "Good. Now get out."

He retreated and was gone in a moment.

"Look into this. I want to know everything about 'Wally' and his connection to the Flash."

From the shadows a man replied. "Yes, Miss Waller. But y'know, he did defeat Luthor…"  
"Which just means that we'd have an even bigger problem if the League went rogue. I'll give them some room but national security is still my responsibility."

+JLU+

Screens full of data slid up the computer screen as Batman's sharp eyes and sharper mind made sense of the information. He was on the look out for activity in a few areas, CADMUS and LexCorp to name two. He was also frequently checking the Wayne Tech satellites for more anomalous readings like the ones he'd been finding for the past several weeks. He still wasn't able to identify them or say with certainty that it was just a random anomaly but until he could he'd continue to search.

When the door to the room opened he didn't turn to see who was there. He could tell from the sound of the shoes that it was Wonder Woman. She walked until she stood next to him and was silent. Batman didn't acknowledge her or the feeling inside wishing that she would turn around and leave.

"What are you doing?"

"Research."

In the silence that followed Diana shifted her weight from foot to foot. Batman continued his work.

"Have you seen the Flash around?"

"He left right after you returned from the mission. Why?"

"Oh… I just wanted to talk to him."

"To apologize you mean?"

Diana knew she shouldn't have been surprised. Batman always kept himself abreast of everything that went on. Still, she wasn't used to him using such a harsh tone with her and she became defensive. "Their safety was still his responsibility. I know I was hard on him but he should be able to tumble when punched."

"You mean 'roll with the punches'." She shrugged nonchalantly. "He's an orphan, Diana. Life's been throwing nothing but punches." He tapped a sequence of keys calling up some new data and then continued. "You can't let your temper get the better of you."

"I know I was unfairly hard on him but I'll talk to him and he'll forgive me." She did feel bad about berating him but their friendship would survive this.

Batman was tempted to shake his head. Equating big hearts with bottomless hearts was childish but tempting. Too many people took advantage of good people, often unintentionally. Everyone had a breaking point and abusing someone's generous nature was just a sure way a reaching the point sooner.

"Just be careful." In those three words he said more than he intended and Wonder Woman heard it too.

"Of him or with him?" Diana waited for a few minutes for an answer but there was no indication of one coming anytime soon and she left.

+JLU+

Fever Pitch lived up to its name that night. The line-up outside the door was long but the low beats from the music blaring inside enticed more people to join the wait for entry. Inside the club was packed. Bodies lined the bar and crowded the dance floor as men and woman alike danced to the music. At the bar there was never a slow moment. Alcoholic beverages flowed freely, encouraging more outlandish and rowdy behaviour from the patrons.

"Here you go. Four 'Polar Bears'." The shots were placed on the somewhat wet bar top. The payment was handed over with a meagre tip but West didn't even have time to gripe before he got another order. Just beers this time and he turned with a nod to get them.

Dodging and weaving through the other bartenders was job in itself but they all managed to get their drinks. When he turned to get the next order he came face to face with a pair of dark eyes that froze him on the spot. It was weird seeing him without the glowing green ones.

"Hey John, what can I get you?"

Stewart responded with a question of his own. "How about your ID? What are you doing here?"

"Working what does it look like?"

"Two rum and cokes," Someone called from behind John and Wally attended the order.

"You can't work here," John said as he watched Wally work.

"Why not?"

John leaned over the bar. "Because legally you can't even drink what you're serving."

Wally glanced side-to-side to make sure no else had heard. "John, shut up. I need the money."

"You're breaking the law."

"Can we talk about this some other time?"

John gave him a glare that promised more on this topic very soon. He moved away from the bar but close enough to keep an eye on Wally as he went back to work.

"You okay?" a friend and fellow bartender asked after witnessing the conversation. West nodded. "What was that about?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Hours later Wally and John walked side-by-side through a back alley. Fever Pitch had just closed and Wally declined a ride home from Fran. Fran had jibed him about John giving him a few nudges and waggling an eyebrow but West vehemently denied her inferences.

"You can't work here."

"I need to. School, rent….food. I need the money, John."

"You could get in a lot of trouble, Wally. And your boss, the whole bar could get in trouble if anyone found out."

"Nobody's going to find out." He was getting paid under the table through a deal his friend had made with the owner.

John stopped and put his hands on the younger man's shoulder. "What's going on Wally? Why are you doing this?"

He shook the large hands off his shoulders and started walking again. "My budget's just been tight lately, okay? I've been taking more odd jobs to try and keep up but it never seems to cover it."

"What about the money you made from the Flash promotions?"

Wally snorted with a wry smile, remembering that fiasco. "I sold the Flashmobile and gave the money to the Keystone Orphanage. The other money's gone."

"Gone?"

He sighed and rubbed his sleepy face. "My Uncle's been sick. He can't work and his compensation isn't enough. His medical insurance doesn't cover the treatment or most of the meds. I've been helping out but it's barely enough."

"I'm sorry."  
"He's getting better. He'll be okay."

"That's good to hear, but if you're having money problems you should have told me. Or Batman. He's got more money than he knows what to do with."

"No!" Wally's sudden protest surprised him. "I mean…I don't want anyone to know." Stewart could tell that, Batman more than anybody was included in 'anyone'. What he didn't understand was why.

"Wally-"

"Just drop it John. I'm done being a charity case, okay?"

John patted his shoulder trying to convey some sense of understanding. "Asking for help doesn't make you a charity case. We're your friends, kid. Friends help each other out."

Wally knew that in such an arrangement he'd always be on the receiving end of such help but he nodded in agreement so that John would drop the topic.

"You have to quit that job though. There are other ways of making money. Legal, ways."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. So what brought you here in the first place? L.A.'s a little that way." He blatantly changed subject and John let him.

"I just wanted to talk to you about the mission today." Wally cringed. "What happened wasn't your fault. Wonder Woman made an error that you had to take care of. She knows that."

"Sure. Whatever."

"I'm serious. She was feeling guilty and took it out on the wrong person."

Wally rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well no harm done, I guess." He shrugged the whole incident off but John remained wary. He knew Wally was still recovering from all that had happened to him and although he appeared to be fine on the outside, he'd seen brief glimpses of uncertainty hidden beneath.

They walked the rest of the way back to Wally's apartment talking about little things or just in comfortable silence. Not once had Wally complained about the slow pace which made John worry about his health. Maybe he wasn't completely recovered yet? He didn't voice his concern. He knew there was only so much concern that Wally could take. John looked up at the sky and smiled. Ah, the fragile egos of youth.

"I'll see you later, John. I'm beat."

"Alright. Take it easy, kid." John slipped on his ring and took off after a brief wave to his friend. Because of the time zone difference it was only one-thirty in his city so he could get a good night's sleep.

**End Chapter 1 - Do Not Give In to Misfortune**

Sagga Bott…


	2. Infra Dignitatem

Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed

Chapter Rating: PG-13 (Bad language. Couldn't be helped)

Summary: While Wally tries to get his life back on track new and old enemies make a move on the league, abducting an important member.

Disclaimer: The DC characters are not mine. I'm just playing with them. They'll be returned…eventually, not in good condition but that can hardly be blamed on me!

Author's Note: B-sharp.

**Chapter 2 - Infra Dignitatem**

It was past evening and into the night; the sun long set on his jewel. Of course his partner was late. Not unexpected but annoying nonetheless. He didn't have anywhere to go. In fact they rarely let him out of his cell and when they did, everything was supervised and scrutinized. He'd be more than glad when he got out of here. And when he did he'd find a way to fulfill his destiny.

A rapping on the bar of his cell drew him from his plotting.

"What took you?" Lex walked over to the window. He couldn't see the other person but it could only be him. Lex assumed that he rested on some sort of sill. Either that or he levitated. Neither was out of the question.

"I saw something interesting and went to investigate."

"Next time-"

"Don't you make demands on me, Luthor. Your freedom rests in my hands. If you ever want to take what you think is yours you best remember your place." The threat was delivered in an almost nonchalant voice, so confident of his power.

Luthor seethed for many seconds before calming himself. When he was out of this place, when he was in control again, he'd make the rules and make this vermin dance to them. "Are you done with your preparations?" he asked in regards to their plan.

"Yes. I've made some interesting observations."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," Lex said dryly.

Unfamiliar with the tone, the other man elaborated. "There are many people who feel as you do. They fear the strength of the Justice League and, as is their nature, they learn to hate them. The super-beings they are weak against, but I can give them a real face, a real identity to direct their upset towards. I can bring the world down on them."

It sounded like a good plan. Why should they have to do all the work? Let the people bring down their champions and pave the way for his ascension to power. Of course the first step was to pick whom to break first. He asked and was pleased with the answer.

"The Flash."

A few more details were discussed but when a corrections officer walked by to check on Luthor, his partner in crime fled. It would not do them any good to get caught now.

As he walked through the streets of Metropolis as just another nameless face he mused on some amendments to the plan. Luthor wouldn't care one way or another. The Flash was his enemy and a man like Luthor didn't even spare mercy on his friends. No, Luthor wouldn't object. In fact if things went right, they would have an inside source on the Justice League and he would have a plaything to satisfy his interests. No, wait, that wasn't quite right. What was the phrase they used? Oh, yes –morbid curiosity.

He would start soon. Know thy enemy, they say. He agreed.

**_+JLU+_**

"There's a lot you can do with speed."

Flash's mouth just twisted into a doubtful expression.

"I'm serious."

"I can't fly…"

"Flying isn't everything."

"…unless I had wings."

"Flying isn't everything!"

"No need to take offence just because you can't fly. They say flying isn't everything." This time it was Green Arrow's expression that twisted. "If I were to make wings how big do you think they'd have to be for me to fly?"

"To carry your ego, pretty big."

Flash was ready with a retort but was interrupted.

"Are you guys at it again?" Black Canary stood in their path. "If I wasn't so secure, I'd be jealous."

In the blink of an eye the Flash was next to her, invading her personal space. "Don't worry, he's not my type. You however,"

"Back off, Speedy. She's mine."

Flash was known to make a faux pas or two when it came to dealing with women so he knew one when he heard it. The possessiveness in Arrow's words wasn't going to go over well. It was time to exit.

"Gotta go!" A strong breeze accompanied his words and then it was just Green Arrow and a pissed Canary. Black Canary wouldn't give him too hard a time over it but he'd learn his lesson.

"Where's the fire?" Superman asked as Wally skid to a halt in front of him. On the old flooring of the former navy base serving as their temporary headquarters the skid was punctuated with a loud squeak.

"No fire. Killer birds, yes."

Superman wasn't sure whether that meant Shayera was on the rampage or Black Canary. He'd would never admit (not even to himself) to fleeing fuming females but strategic evasion wasn't out of the question.

He joined the Flash in heading in the opposite direction. "How was your training?" Flash looked surprised that he new about it.

It had been a spur of the moment thing a week ago and now he was training almost regularly with Green Arrow, learning a few tricks.

"Small world," Superman smiled at Flash's expression.

"Apparently." In response to Superman's inquiry he shrugged. "It's okay. Have you heard anything about the Human Federation?" They'd been busy trying to weed this latest threat out into the open but since the attempted attack on the still under-construction watch tower a few weeks ago, there had been nothing but some name-calling directed at League members who were on missions.

"Not yet. They seem to be below our radar."

"You think they'd trust us by now. We're not trying to take over."

The Justice Lords did, Superman couldn't help but think. He could also understand how they'd reached the point of dictatorship, he could even see a reasonable path to it and he was disgusted with himself. It was a darker side of himself that he'd seen in the Justice Lords' Superman and it was a side he could no longer pretend did not exist. Still he knew that it would have taken something to push the alternate him over the edge, something unthinkable, something personal, something tragic.

Beside him Wally, hidden behind red spandex, blathered on about something that had him smiling but Clark wasn't paying attention. He enjoyed the young man's company but it didn't mean he was always listening. There was something peaceful about his consistency. You could always count on the Flash to be the Flash.

**_+JLU+_**

When there were too many moving pieces he was the only one who could see a pattern. Some called it genius others called it psychosis, sometimes there was hardly a difference between the two. Whatever it was called they were counting on him now.

Batman had come to him, actually sought him out, and dropped numerous hints that something was happening and they needed his help. The clandestine nature of the meeting informed Question that this was supposed to be kept on the hush but it wasn't like he went around publishing his conspiracy theories, at least not until he was entirely certain.

So we have moving pieces, Batman, and now –he crouched down and picked up the small object –a cigarette butt. The rest of the room was strewn with other tidbits, some electronics here and there and if he took a sample he was sure there'd be traces of plastic explosives. Bombs had been made here. Whether they'd already been used he couldn't tell. Speculate, on the other hand? Yes. The only thing out of place was the cigarette. Given all the other small pieces of trash strewn across the floor most people would have thought little of the small brown filter but he wasn't just anybody.

He put the evidence in a small plastic bag and pocketed it. There was nothing else to be found here. He'd be back later when his theory was more mature and he was looking for specific evidence, but until then he had other places to search.

Exiting the small building was much easier than entering had been. It was a maze of narrow corridors and locked doors. Paranoia, he deduced. When he finally made it outside he felt another presence. He knew who it was. It was always her. She, for some reason, seemed to enjoy his personality. With a blank face it had to be the personality that attracted her.

"Was it worth it?"

"It always is." He strode to his motorcycle. "What are you doing here Huntress?"

"I just thought I'd keep an eye on you. Never know when you might need back up."

He refrained from informing her that if he needed back up he'd have all he could ever want by pressing the comm. device in his ear. As no longer a part of the League the security of back-up was a luxury she didn't have.

"Are you done now?" she asked.

"My work is never done."

"Are you done for today?" She leaned in close.

His usual answer would have been 'no', but for her, "Yes."

"Good." She began to walk to her own bike, hidden between some large crates. "There's this place I want to check out."

"Check out how?" It wasn't often she wanted to do things in the more inconspicuous manner that he preferred. Sometimes she just liked to barge in and see what happened.

"Let's just see how it plays out." Smiling, Huntress pulled on her matching black and purple helmet and started the engine. "Race ya." A second later it was only the smell of burnt rubber with the Question.

"A bit of an unfair advantage since I don't even know where we're going," he said to himself. He donned his own helmet and sped off to catch up with her. He was always up to playing her games.

It didn't take long to reach her, obviously she'd been waiting for him. As she guided them to an upscale lounge his thoughts were still churning around his head attempting to make sense of the evidence he'd collected so far and what he'd observed of the past few months. None of the theories he came up with spelled anything good or the Justice League.

**_+JLU+_**

'_With the increased threat of superhuman attacks on our soil we're taking initiatives to protect our citizens.'_

'_What about the Justice League? They've always been the ones to deal with threats like that.'_

'_Yes, and we owe them a lot.'_

"You're damn right you do."

"Language."

"Sorry." He ignored the snickering coming from the two small people in front of him and returned his attention back to the newscast.

'…_however, it's imperative that we attain a force of comparable ability; a team that answers to our government, our president.'_

'_Are you suggesting your own meta-human army?'_

'_I'm suggesting a team of soldiers loyal to us. Superpower, superspeed, unimportant. What is important is the notion that we don't need to rely on a force that won't put the needs of Americans first._

'_Admiral, are you looking to any existing special forces teams to recruit members.'_

'_Nothing is written in stone yet except the need for such a team. The Justice League just isn't enough.'_

"Boo!" Popcorn began hitting the TV screen, tossed by two young Justice League fans.

"Hey, you two, quit it! No throwing food!" Iris Allen directed a motherly glare at her two kids. Fraternal twins, Donald and Dawn in terms of personality were as different as two people could be, yet somehow were very still very close. They were only seven years old, Dawn eight minutes older than her brother but they were old enough to know what they liked, hated, and just old enough to talk back with some conviction. Adolescence was going to be quite the journey.

The doorbell rang and nobody moved, still glued to the program on the TV. Iris sighed seeing that neither her husband Barry nor her kids was going to get up. She headed to the entrance of their modest house and peaked through the window.

"Wally!" she hugged him as soon as she opened the door.

"Hey, Aunt Iris. How are you?"

"I'm good." She smiled at him and pulled back a little. "I'm really good."

He smiled back. She was looking better and her eyes were lit with something that had been missing for too long.

It was devastation that she'd felt when the doctors had diagnosed her husband with a usually fatal form of cancer. The disease in Barry's case was believed to have been induced by his exposure to rare radiation forms at work. He was a research scientist working for the Central City Police Department. The police were eager for any edge against super-powered criminals and Barry was driven to help them. Unfortunately he'd take a few too many risks.

The treatment for the cancer had been swift and brutal, but ultimately successful at least for now. The side effects however where nearly as bad as the disease. Loss of hair, lost weight, lost appetite, he'd practically wasted away and there had been no end in sight. The treatment had killed the cancer but it seemed to have killed other parts of his body too. Their only hope had been a radical and just-this-side-of-experimental treatment.

Barry had balked at the idea, particularly after he heard the price and that his health insurance wouldn't cover it. They'd debated over it for days, Barry's condition worsening with each one, almost to the point that even the new treatment couldn't bring him back. The last day of their argument Wally had been there, as he always was, skipping school and some League work to be with his Uncle.

_Iris and Barry were still going at it, both desperate to make the other see sense. Wally, silent on the issue for the first time since Barry had turned down treatment stood off to the side staring out the window._

_"Don't be so selfish!"_

_"I'm not being selfish!"_

_We're all selfish, Wally though bitterly to himself._

_"I just want to die with some dignity!" _

_That was all Wally could take._

_"What dignity! What's so great about wasting away and making us watch? If you want dignity then you'll go out fighting this with everything you have!"_

_"And what about after?" Barry wheezed. "When you're all struggling to pay the bills?"_

_"You're worth it!" Wally walked to his bedside. "But if you don't think so then fine, sit here! Give up! Toss it all away just because you're too much of a chicken shit to take a chance! Die here, with all of us around you, hating you because you made us give up. Make you're kids cry, make them grow up without you, make them think that they're not worth fighting this!" He glared down at the man he had admired most. "You tell me! Where's the fucking dignity in that!"_

_Wally stormed out with nary a glance back at his stunned Aunt and Uncle. He didn't return to the hospital for days and when he did Barry was looking better having accepted the treatment. Wally stood awkwardly in the doorway unsure of his welcome. On the bed with Barry slept Don and Dawn. Barry looked up feeling eyes on him and met the conflicted eyes of his nephew._

_"I'm sorry," Wally croaked out. Barry just stared at him and Wally left._

_"Wally!" Barry had called after him but he didn't return. He looked down at his children and petted the red-blonde hair of his son. "Thank you."_

Since then Wally hadn't been around as much as he had been before. Barry had tried to talk to him but Wally was evasive. He came by every once in a while and would baby-sit when he was needed but there was a gap between Wally and Barry now.

"How have you been?" Iris asked pulling her nephew inside.

"Pretty good." He hung up his jacket and took of his shoes before following Iris to the living room where the other three Allen's were assembled around the talking box.

"Wally!" Dawn and Don exclaimed in unison. They ran over to greet him.

"Hey, Double-D!" Iris smacked him lightly on the back of the head. She hated that nickname even if the kids didn't know what it meant.

"When are you going to take us to the park? You said you would," Dawn whined. Wally was always more fun than her parents where when they went to the park. Mostly because he let them do things their parents wouldn't.

"I fixed my r/c car. I want to try it out," Don added

"How about Saturday?" The kids cheered and Wally hoped that nothing would come up between now and then to make him unable to make the date.

From the recliner Barry watched Wally interact with his family. Guilt was still weighing down the young man and Barry was determined to banish it. Iris must have noticed because a minute later she dragged the kids to the kitchen with her to help make dinner leaving Wally and Barry alone.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Barry asked. Wally stiffly sat down on the couch, rubbing the palms of his hands nervously on his pants. "Are you unhappy that I'm here?" Barry asked patiently.

"What? No!"

"Then why are you always so depressed when you're around me?"

"It's…" Wally looked in the direction of the kitchen obviously wishing that he could escape this conversation but getting up and walking away would only emphasize that Barry couldn't. He was ambulatory but still quite slow. And whose fault is that, asked his conscience. "It's not you. It's what I did. If you didn't want the treatment it should have been your call. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"I actually wanted to thank you for that but you didn't give me the chance." Barry smile wryly. "I'm glad you changed my mind because you were right. So, thank you."

Wally smiled, still a little sad but definitely with relief. Just as he was about to say something his phone rang its special ring. J'onn had managed to connect his cell phone to the League communication system so that when he was Wally he could communicate using the phone. It was a lot less suspicious than holding you're ear and talking to air.

He gave Barry an apologetic look before flipping it open. "What's up?"

"They need back up in Cleveland." It sounded like Mr. Terrific but he could hear J'onn in the background dispatching other heroes.

"Got it. I'm there." He snapped his phone closed. "I gotta go."

"League stuff."

"Yeah.

Iris and Barry where the only two people outside the League (other than Dick Grayson) who knew his identity and he trusted them never to let it out.

"Be careful."

"Always am." He said a quick good-bye to the others then left. Barry still worried about his superhero work. Wally's idea of careful had never been anywhere in the scope of his. However, as a survivor of a cancer that was mostly his fault he wasn't one to judge.

**_+JLU+_**

It was controlled chaos when the Flash arrived on the scene. The police had cordoned off the perpetrators and there were two JL members on the scene already. It appeared to be Supergirl and Red Tornado, both of them were flying leaving the Flash down on the ground with the mere mortals.

"What's going on?" Flash asked of one of the officers.

"Officer Mahoney," the man introduced himself quickly. "A bunch of kids just went nuts. Attacking people, stealing anything they could get their hands on and they aren't affected by stun guns and rubber bullets don't bother them."

"Are you sure they're really kids?"

"I'm sure." The man glanced to the convenience store the kids were cornered in. "I walk this beat a lot. I know most of them. They're not perfect but I never would have expected this from them."

"Don't worry we'll figure this out," Flash assured the dejected and confused man, not even considering a less satisfactory alternative.

The officer nodded and once again slipped into his professional cop mode. "We aren't sure if they're all armed. Probably some knives, at least one bat, don't know about guns."

Through the windows of the convenience store they could just make out the kids raiding the snacks and drinks. There was no telling how long this stand off would last but "at least we won't need to send them food," Flash mumbled. Mahoney slid a glance to the speedster.

"Flash!" Kara flew over, just noticing his arrival. "You ready to bust in there?"

"You can't!" A bystander slipped under the barricade and ran over. "My sister's in there!" Before he could make it all the way the teenager was intercepted by some officers on crowd control.

"He's right," said Flash, sympathizing with the man. "They're just kids. We need to do this…delicate."

Kara frowned. She didn't do delicate really well. "Fine."

It only took a few minutes to formulate a plan. The major player would be the knock out gas. Hopefully it would still have an affect on them otherwise it was Plan B, which was still in the works.

"You ready?" Mahoney asked handing the gas canisters to the fastest man alive.

"Always." As soon as he had them he ran to the front doors of the store. Before the kids knew it the store was filling with a white gas hissing from three silver canisters.

They dashed for the exit but Supergirl was holding it closed. Soon the whole store was clouded. The pounding against the bullet-proof windows was vaguely disturbing but the gas would knock them out soon enough. Or it would have if Supergirl hadn't let go.

As she staggered backwards holding her head and the teens began pouring out of the store, coughing and most collapsing no more than a few meters from the entrance. Others were less affected by the gas and continued their rampage. They went after the first person they could get to which was Supergirl. Red Tornado managed to blow three of them away from her but another two got close enough to land a few blows. Just as another barrage of blows was starting Kara struck back.

She caught a fist just inches before it struck her face and threw the young man across the street. He would have been brought to an abrupt halt by a police cruiser but lucky for him the Flash caught him. Still dazed for his flight the kid didn't struggle as nearby officers moved in and cuffed him.

Stunned by what had just happened Flash turned back to Supergirl wondering what had gotten into her. She was staggering around like she was intoxicated but her eyes were dull.

"There's something wrong with her," Flash stated.

The now hand-cuffed young man began to regain lucidity mumbling as awareness returned. Wally crouched down and with a hand on the boys chin made him look up at him. He and the other officers watched as the cloudy haze faded from his eyes.

"What's going on?" the kid asked finally.

Flash shook his head in confusion. "I don't know."

"Supergirl, stop!" Red Tornado had intercepted the super-being before she could go after another teen less affected by the gas but she wasn't about to give up so easily. Red Tornado struggled to keep them separate as he dolled out and received blows from both of them. He blew the teenage girl down with a blast of air but before he could turn to face his colleague Kara swung her clasped hands striking him in the back of the head. The android stumbled forward temporarily disoriented and a second sudden blow struck his back knocking him over completely.

Flash intercepted Kara before she could strike again but even when he tried to talk her out of whatever trance she was under she came after him. A punch left followed by a quick right had him weaving out of harms way. There was no telling how much damage she could do and she looked to be in a real rage. Flash jumped back to dodge a round house kick but she flew at him with another. A huge gust of wind nearly had Flash airborne but it managed to push Kara back.

"Supergirl! Snap out of it!" Flash pounced on her, tackling her to the ground and trapping one wrist in each hand. "Fight it!"

She shook her head but when their eyes met hers were still clouded. Her face twisted into a snarl as she pushed him away just enough to get her legs up and kick him in the gut. She went on the offensive again and Flash had no choice but to defend himself.

He blocked a particularly vicious swing of her arm with his forearm. Pain burst through the entire limb and he knew that she'd broken one of the bones.

She continued with her assault forcing Flash to step back with each swing. As his stress mounted he felt something clawing at his mind urging him to fight back as brutally as possible.

When he caught Supergirl's right hook with his good hand he spun around as quickly as possible and threw the woman into the convenience store. The glass shattered on impact with a shower of white sparkles.

"Keep her down!" Flash ordered ruthlessly to Red Tornado and rounded on the group of teens that still lay unconscious on the ground. He resisted the urge to kick them, but the feeling scratching away his conscience was growing so he knew he was on the right track. On his knees he rolled a few of them over looking for something out of place. He could hear more glass breaking from somewhere behind him and the sounds around him grew louder, drowning out even his thoughts. One hand clawed at his neck trying to use a different pain to counter the pain expanding through his head.

'What do you think you're doing!' Flash heard someone yell so loudly that it was barely intelligible. The world around him began to vibrate making reality look more like an abstract painting. He continued to search. He knew he was getting close.

He felt his eyes begin to water as the discomfort deepened and the voice grew harsher. 'You're nothing but a failure…Can't be trusted with anything…so weak…pathetic…I'll watch you crumble…' the voice derided.

In the confusion something began to stand out. It was shiny and white. He reached out, quickly removing the large white jewel from a necklace of one of the girls. The voice continued to scream at him telling him how worthless he was, calling him an unloved bastard, gutter trash –slews of insults he'd heard over his life and more he hadn't.

He began to squeeze the crystal, watching as it began to glow a vibrant white. The mocking voice became so shrill it rattled his teeth. Cracks began to grow, weaving a web of dark streaks into the bright white pattern of light being produced until finally it splintered into tiny razor sharp pieces in his hand. The noise and the voice began to die away but the taunts continued until they faded to silence. The last one was just a whisper in his ears.

'They didn't love you enough…they let you go…property of the state…'

"Flash?" The voice suddenly cut through the silence he'd been shrouded in. When he looked up Kara was kneeling in front of him, eyes wracked with guilt. He tried to tell her it wasn't her fault but the words died somewhere between his brain and his mouth.

She took his right hand in hers uncurling his rigid fingers. She hissed in sympathy as the damage was revealed. The slivers had cut through his costume, into his fingers and palm, some quite deeply. He remained oddly silent even as blood dripped from his hand.

"I'm sorry, Flash." She began to pick out the shards but only managed to get a few before he jerked away from her and stood. He stared down at her and then Red Tornado. Around them the police were nearly done. They'd collected the perpetrators and were securing the area. He hadn't noticed any of it.

"Flash?" Red Tornado's smooth voice didn't register and suddenly the Flash was gone.

"Is he okay?" Officer Mahoney asked as he came over to the two remaining heroes.

"I don't know." She looked at her bloody hands –Flash's blood, your fault, her mind insisted –and at the transparent shards of what looked like harmless crystal but most certainly wasn't. "This is what caused all of this." She held out one of the shards to the officer knowing they'd need the evidence to clear the kids. Mahoney took the bloody shard in a small clear bag. Kara held onto the others for the League scientists to examine.

"What should we do about Flash?" Red Tornado asked.

Kara was silent for a few seconds. She reached to her ear and activated her communication device. "J'onn. I think there might be something wrong with the Flash."

**_+JLU+_**

When he stopped he didn't know where he was but he didn't care either. He was breathing heavily, quite possibly hyperventilating but he couldn't bring himself under control. Shaking hands clutched at his head and chest trying to ease the rapidly mounting anguish.

The temperature seemed to climb several degrees in only a few seconds making him perspire but he was shivering too. Clammy pale skin began to stick to his suit making it feel tighter and more constricting than it truly was. He was suffocating. He ripped off his mask still gasping for air and smearing blood from his hand onto his face. His legs quivered and gave out and he collapsed to his knees. Beams of sunlight began to attack his eyes, brighter and brighter until finally all he saw was white burning light making his head throb twice as badly.

Suddenly he keeled over emptying his stomach of its few contents of undigested food and something really bitter. He shuddered with each clenching of his stomach, the contraction arching his whole body.

The spasms of his oesophageal muscles having ended for the time being he fell to the side onto the dusty earth. The dry soil stuck to the tearstains on his face. When he'd started crying was beyond the scope of his warped memory. All he could do was lay there.

Then it was green, lots of green but with orange eyes.

"Flash," a voice whispered from far away. This time it was a nice voice with calm, even tone. "Wally, listen to me. You're going to be alright. Hang on."

J'onn brushed away sweat matted hair from the pale forehead. Wally's only response was a choked whimper that hurt J'onn to hear. He scooped the barely conscious man up into his arms and took off for the Javelin hovering nearby.

"Is he okay?" Shayera's worried voice filtered through the earpiece. When they'd arrived at Flash's location J'onn had without warning phased through the plane leaving her no choice but to fly it since there was no place to land.

"He hurts, terribly," J'onn answered. He flew to the ship with Wally secure in his grasp. The jagged Appalachian precipice and its deadly decline, where Wally had stopped only meters from the edge would be left behind, a nightmare that didn't came true.

**End Chapter 2 – Below One's Dignity**

"You tell me. Where's the dignity in that?" Wally says that in this story but I SWEAR I've heard that somewhere else. When I wrote it I thought it was original but when I read it over it sounded really familiar. If anyone knows where I may have heard this I would appreciate it. Thanks

Sagga…


	3. Mirabile Visu

Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Summary: While Wally tries to get his life back on track new and old enemies make a move on the league, abducting an important member.

Disclaimer: The DC characters are not mine. I'm just playing with them. They'll be returned…eventually, not in good condition but that can hardly be blamed on me!

Author's Note: I've got nothing...

**Chapter 3 – Mirabile Visu**

"How do you feel?" Shayera asked in what she hoped was a casual, not-too-concerned tone.

Wally flexed his right hand. "Okay, considering."

His right hand was bandaged but healing quickly. The numerous crystal shards had been removed and taken for analysis. There didn't appear to be any nerve damage. The tingling he felt, the docs told him it was normal. He traced his bandaged fingers over the brace on his left forearm. He'd been right about the broken arm. Transverse fracture of the ulna they called it. He just called it busted. It took six to eight weeks for a fracture in a normal healthy person to heal. For him they estimated less than two weeks for complete healing.

Absently he began to pick at the metallic exoskeleton. The skin underneath was beginning to itch. Shayera's slender but strong fingers stilled his hand and she gave him an admonishing look to which he just shrugged and looked back at his high-tech cast. Less bulky that the traditional plaster cast, the doctors had given it to him citing that he'd be able to wear it underneath his costume without difficulty. He thought it looked pretty neat but he would have appreciated some bigger holes for scratching.

"You should take it easy."

He peered up at Shayera from where he sat on the medical bed. She really looked shaken. He closed his bandaged hand around hers in a firm, comforting grip. "I'm ok." He put as much conviction into his words as possible but he couldn't banish the worry in her eyes especially since he couldn't hide the lingering torment in his own.

**_+JLU+ _**

_Shayera flew the Javelin back to base while J'onn stayed in the rear of the craft trying to help his friend. Stuck at the controls she had no choice but to listen to his tortured moans. By the time they landed, she was a mess. J'onn had already taken Flash to the infirmary before she'd even finished shutting down the engines and when she finally got there the Flash lay listlessly on the bed, face once again covered by his red mask._

_She'd closed the doors on the mounting crowd who'd heard on the swift moving grapevine about the Flash. She was helpless to heal him but she could give him some privacy. She stood out of the way near the door watching nervously._

_J'onn and two doctors administered to him, eventually pumping him full of sedatives to calm him. With his metabolism they didn't last long but once J'onn had managed to remove the last shard of crystal from his right hand he calmed._

_The Flash was suddenly silent, peaceful and Shayera approached on numb legs. Tears streaked his face and still streamed beneath his mask. She placed a hand on his chest, felt the ragged breathing and bit her lip helplessly._

_"Psychic amplifier." She turned at J'onn's words. He was looking at the crystal splinters collected in a metal pan._

_"Somebody was controlling this. They used his mind against him, twisted his perception and used it to harm him. Supergirl and presumably the adolescents in Cleveland were under its influence as well. As an android Red Tornado was unaffected though he was in range of it." Even in tiny pieces J'onn could feel the crystal reflecting his physic abilities. He didn't need the help of the crystal to feel the waves of tormented emotion pouring from Flash. The intensity had decreased but he remembered the searing hopelessness he'd felt when they'd first found him. Embedded in his palm, the direct contact of the crystals had amplified Flash's already disturbed emotions._

_During their return there had been a moment when J'onn had felt trapped within the typhoon of distress but the jolt of the craft landing had pulled him free and he'd regained his senses._

_"Who did this?" Shayera's angry demand was in direct contrast to the gentle motions her fingers made over Flash's hand._

_"I don't know." _

**_+JLU+ _**

J'onn sat impassively explaining what had transpired to Stewart. He was at home in LA. J'onn had to repeat every minute or two that Wally was fine just to keep John from putting on his ring and dashing to see the young man.

"He's been released and he's gone home claiming to have a job to go to tomorrow tonight."

"And you let him go?"

J'onn resisted a well deserved sigh. "He was feeling better and the attention he was getting was only making him uncomfortable."

"I'll check up on him later."

"There's no need. Batman will be in Central City tonight. He's volunteered to keep an eye on him."

It sounded like English. There was nothing wrong with the sentences and yet somehow John thought he'd misunderstood.

J'onn continued unaware of Stewarts confusion. "Apparently they're attending the same function tomorrow."

**_+JLU+ _**

The bowtie was straight. The tuxedo, flawlessly fitted. Hair, combed to perfection. Smile, rehearsed so many times it was almost natural. He was ready to go. His eyes met Alfred's in the mirror.

"Finished, sir?" The teasing tone of the butler drew a real smile from the billionaire.

"I suppose." He picked up a shiny clip with several neatly folded bill and slipped it into his breast pocket. His Bat-alarm was hooked up to his PDA –already in his pocket- so he'd know about any criminal activity in the area. One last check in the mirror and he was ready to go. Alfred handed him his coat and they left the hotel room.

The drive through the unfamiliar streets was short and uneventful. Around them the lights of Central City's sky scrapers lit up the skyline. It was a nice city, not the size of Gotham, but cleaner and friendlier. Of course this was just the good neighbourhood. As they pulled up to the convention centre citizens crowded the sidewalk; mostly media personnel and reporters trying to get a glimpse and a quick interview with the wealthy people attending the function.

Yes, the Annual Tech Symposium and Gala brought out all the big names in the technology sector and all the other big wigs on the business and marketing end of the field. Everybody wanted in on the latest gadget and latest trends –being first meant being successful.

Central City and DalTech was this year's host and with most of the symposium end of the conference over it was now time for the party.

"Large crowd."

"As always," Bruce mumbled not pleased to be here at all. He'd left his city in the hands of Tim and Dick –Dick whom he'd actually called and asked for help. Not nearly as difficult to do as he thought it would be; perhaps because it was Alfred who'd made the actually call and asked but it was his idea. He wouldn't have asked Dick there except that the Penguin was on the loose, again, and he didn't think Tim could handle such a dangerous nut alone. That he trusted Dick enough to leave Gotham in his hands must have said something. Whatever it said he hoped Dick heard.

The car door was opened by one of the ushers at the entrance and immediately the camera flashes increased. Bruce Wayne, playboy, billionaire had just arrived. He smiled charmingly at all of them and stood still for a moment while they took some shots.

He headed for the entrance ignoring the questions being thrown at him from the reporters who hadn't snagged a ticket to get inside. He saw one of the reporters who did get a ticket and considered making a run for it. He just might make it to the door before she got to him.

"Bruce! You nearly missed the party. We were beginning to think you were a no-show."

"I wouldn't miss a chance to make your acquaintance, Miss Lane." He looked over her shoulder and saw a young red-headed boy. "Mr. Olsen, I presume."

"Yes, sir. It's nice to meet you, sir!" His enthusiasm was amusing though Lois disagreed.

"Tone it down, Jimmy. He's a computer geek. He doesn't walk on water."

Bruce raised an eyebrow but didn't let the comment faze him. Surprisingly, he felt better with Lois here. "Mr. Kent, didn't join you this evening."

"Smallville got dumped with a different story," she shrugged. "What about you? No arm-candy for the night?"

"Not tonight, but I'd be honoured if you joined me."

"I'm still working right now but promise to save me a dance."

Bruce nodded with a smile and walked on. He was soon shielded from the harsh glares of the camera flashes and enveloped in a world of opulence. He almost preferred the blinding flashes.

The guests had congregated in the foyer. High glass walls, shimmering chandeliers and expensive artwork created an air of sophistication to which the guests endeavoured to live up to. Walking through the crowd were servers, mostly young men and women, dressed in black slacks, black vests, a white shirt and a bowtie –simple, but neat.

As the first business partners came over and began talking to him Bruce felt the false smile slide easily to his lips. Polite interest and a charming smile had seen him through many boring meetings and won many important contracts. He knew these sorts of networking functions were important to his business but he rarely enjoyed them on more than a superficial level.

He plucked a flute of champagne from a passing waiter. Good champagne, a Louis Roederer Cristal if he wasn't mistaken but like most of the food and drink served at these functions it was more of a fashion statement than anything. He didn't know that in the kitchen the servers were commenting on the same thing.

"I bet I could spit in this and they'd just say it was more flavourful," a young man laughed as he scooped out more fish eggs with a small mother-of-pearl spoon.

"Don't let the Sous Chef hear you. He'll ream you a new one for just saying that," the red-head warned.

"I'll never get the allure of caviar, man. It's so freakin' weird," said the first man, Trevor Cunningham.

"The allure is that they can have it and you can't." He didn't think that was the only reason but it did look pretty gross.

"West, leave that. Take this tray out. If anyone asks it's 'baked brie'." One of the lower chefs held out elaborately decorated tray of food.

"Baked brie. Got it." He took the tray of the small flakey pastry things and ventured out through the double doors passing a long-suffering look at the friend who'd gotten him the job for the evening. The cuts on his right hand tingled with the weight of the tray but they were mostly healed. Only the deeper wounds still hurt but the white server's gloves covered the bandages.

He weaved languidly through the crowd, the small hors d'oeuvres becoming less numerous as he went. With his reflexes it was easy enough to avoid the less considerate guests who would have jarred the tray or the brace on his left arm hidden under the sleeve. He was soon at the opposite side of the large room. The windows from ceiling to floor exposed a picturesque view of the Japanese Garden and the L-shaped reflecting pool boasted by the convention centre. He lost himself for a moment in the reflection of the city lights in the dark water.

"Can I get one of those?"

Wally turned to see a fellow red-head. This guy looked a little younger than him and carried with him a camera. Must be one of the reporters, he thought absently. "Baked Brie," said Wally mechanically and offered the food.

"What's Brie?"

He shrugged. "My guess is cheese." He watched the young man eye the morsel for a moment before heading back into the crowd. He estimated that by the time he made it back to the kitchen his tray would be empty.

He'd only just begun his rounds when he nearly bumped into a very solid chest. He looked up, already apologizing and saw familiar blue eyes.

"May I try one of those?"

Wally responded automatically. "Baked Brie."

"I know. Thanks." He popped it into his mouth and Wally continued on, more embarrassed now than when he'd asked his friend what the black funny shaped strip of fabric (that he now knew was an untied bowtie) was for and had almost everyone laugh at him. Humiliation wasn't new to him. He usually managed to put a grin on faces whether they laugh at or with him, whether as the Flash or as Wally. But he didn't want to be seen as just a joke by his colleagues. He wanted to be equal.

Eventually he made it back to the kitchen.

"Back so soon?" one of the chefs asked but it wasn't really a question. He handed Wally another tray and shooed him out the door telling him it was 'Beluga Caviar'. Reluctantly he went. The dark fish roes sat atop a pale cracker with a swirl of white cream to finish. It looked nice but to Wally it didn't look like something he'd want to eat.

As was required he parroted the name of the food as people reached for one. He heard one woman comment on the flavour of the caviar and briefly wondered if Trevor really had spit in it. He stifled his laughter.

Climbing the stairs the stairs to the terrace that rimmed the foyer on three sides was perilous as people went up and down grabbing the food as they went. He didn't think many of the other waiters came up this way and thought that maybe the people here wanted some of this junk.

"Beluga caviar," he muttered again to a woman taking a cracker. Beluga –wasn't that a whale? Whales didn't have eggs….

As he walked along the crowd thinned a bit and that was how he was spotted.

"Wally?"

He turned to find Nick McKay coming towards him. He was dressed in a stylish navy blue suit and silver tie. They hadn't seen each other for weeks. Not since he and Dick were in Wally's favourite café for breakfast the day he'd been turned into a kid.

"I didn't know you'd be here," Nick said with a smile, apparently happy to see him.

"I didn't know either until a few nights ago." He saw Nick's brown eyes shift to the tray.

"Beluga Caviar?" he offered.

Nick took one. "Best kind I hear."

Wally was proud that he didn't laugh or cringe when McKay chewed with obvious enjoyment. All he could think of was his friend hawking a loogie in the caviar. "Uh…I didn't know whales had eggs," West said when Nick had swallowed but neither of them had anything to say. Not the most brilliant of lines but this wasn't the most brilliant of situations either.

"Beluga's are also a type of sturgeon." McKay and West turned to find none other than Bruce Wayne approaching. He took and ate one of the crackers. "Malossol caviar I believe."

"Nick McKay," Nick introduced himself, clearly excited at meeting one of the richest guys in the world. Bruce shook the offered hand but Wally noted that the smile on the billionaire's face was a fake. Nick didn't seem to notice as he continued. "I'm a patent lawyer for DalTech. I've heard a lot about your work in medical diagnostic technologies."

"Thank you but I'm not here to talk shop tonight."

"Oh, of course not," Nick agreed readily.

Wally rolled his eyes and mimed Nick's 'Oh, of course not'. Apparently Bruce noticed because when Wally looked up Bruce was looking at him again and there was genuine amusement in the smile now. It was an expression he wasn't used to with or without the cape and cowl.

"Do you two know each other?" Bruce asked looking at one then the other.

"We're passing acquaintances," Nick answered dismissively.

Wally didn't say otherwise. Nick glanced at him. He looked almost worried. "Excuse me." Wally stepped past both of them towards the stairs.

Wayne suffered through a brief conversation with McKay before the main doors to the dining room were opened and he could escape to his table. Not that it was much better there since he sat with some other business men but it was better than the lawyer. McKay knew West better than he let on and he felt bad for Wally having to put up with a someone who was ashamed of their friendship. He mentally rifled through all the lawyer jokes he knew and found his mood improving.

He spotted McKay a few tables away chatting up someone else and Wally along with the other waiters bringing out their meals. He was curious to know how well Wally and McKay knew each other.

Some time later, dinner and speeches over (waiting staff bored to tears), the dance could now begin. Bruce did have that dance with Lois (Clark would just have to deal with it). He watched over her shoulder as the waiters cleaned up their tables. He watched a woman being ignored for the moment by her date asked Wally to dance with her. He managed to squirm out of it and found refuge in the kitchen. Satisfied somehow Bruce dipped Lois, much to her delight, though only a small smile turned her lips.

Once upon a time they'd danced together, almost made a life together but they'd decided it would be better not to. Now she was with Kent and he, as always, was alone.

+JLU+

"She was kinda hot."

Wally looked ready to keel over at that comment. "She was kind of old, Trev."

"There's nothing wrong with maturity."

"Fine. Next time you can dance with her," the two joked as they cleaned up. The rest of the night would just be serving tea and coffee, and then some cleaning up when the party was over.

"I'm going to take a leak," West told his friend when they'd finished clearing most of the kitchen. Getting to the staff washroom required cutting through a corner of the dining room to the back hallway and walking almost to the other end of the building.

He was just washing his hands when a round man walked in. He wore a tuxedo that was about a size too tight, the buttons over the expanded gut struggled valiantly to hold the black fabric closed.

I guess he got lost, Wally reasoned since this was the staff washroom and pretty far removed from the main event hall. He didn't pay him any mind until the man came over to him.

Wally glanced sideways. "Can I help you?"

"No, but I may be able to help you."

West knew the man was pushing a scam right away. While he dried his hands the man pulled out a brightly coloured business card.

"What's this?" Wally asked taking the offered card.

"One of my side-businesses. Perfect for a young man like yourself. All you have to do is look nice and be polite and you'll be treated to shows, fancy meals and parties, instead of having to work at them."

"An escort service," he correctly deduced.

"Yes. You can make two hundred dollars in two hours. All you have to do is be nice to a pretty lady. That's not hard." Wally knew he should have just thrown the card back to the man but it did sound pretty easy. "If you're willing to go out with men, you'll get double."

"Men?"

"Sure! A pretty boy like you, you'd be my number one in no time at all."

He'd been reading the card so intently that Wally was startled by the hand placed on his hip and jumped back. Just then the door to one of the stalls opened startling both of them. Wally hadn't noticed anybody else was in here. Neither apparently had the other man.

And it would just have to be him. "Recruiting, Ivanov?" Wayne asked with derision. He stepped between West and the round man to get to the sink even though there were other free faucets.

"Wayney, I was just offering this young man a way to earn some extra money. Nothing wrong with that." His expression belied his words as he back-peddled out of the room beating a hasty retreat. Bruce watched him go in the mirror. When the door closed his eyes shifted to Wally's reflection.

Wally didn't know what to do, say. Suddenly the whole room was filled with Bruce/Batman's presence.

"You weren't really considering that, were you?" Bruce asked as he dried his hands. The voice seemed to be a blend of Batman and Bruce Wayne. A balance in the spectrum of the man's whole personality Wally speculated. While Wally's mind digressed Bruce continued. "He's got a reputation; mostly pertaining to his proclivity for young men."

Before Wally could think of a response, the gaudy card was snatched from his hand. The ice blue eyes narrowed as he read the print. They looked up at him demanding an answer for the question he'd already asked.

"It's just a job," West finally managed.

"It's not a safe one."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know." That threw Wally for a loop. He could never really handle Batman, why would he be any different without the cape? "If you need money-"

Not this again. "I don't!" He grabbed the card back and walked out of the washroom. Bruce didn't follow immediately but by the time he was in the corridor, nobody else was there. He made his way back to the event hall but paused one the way at a garbage bin and was relieved.

In the garbage, right on top of the other refuse, was the brightly coloured escort card.

The rest of the night was pretty low key. The 'party' continued with many guest taking to the dance floor, or just chatting in small groups. At the far wall Wally West and Trevor Cunningham watched with less than mild interest.

"This is boring," Wally ragged. Trevor nodded his agreement. They were on tea/coffee duty. Next to them, on a nice looking cart were five different types of coffee and three types of tea. They probably all tasted the same but he supposed Kenya Light Roast must somehow be better than Columbian Dark since those were the most and least popular requests, respectively.

"I think I'll check out UltraTonic when we're done here. You coming?" Trevor asked. He knew Wally was underage but he also knew Wally had a fake ID.

"Naw. I gotta head home. Busy day tomorrow." He was scheduled to take watch with J'onn tomorrow and they wouldn't appreciate him being late or falling asleep on the job. They'd suggested he take two weeks off but he'd somehow persuaded them to keep him on duty even if it was just watch duty.

It was quiet between the two of them for a few minutes, only the background noise of conversation and laughter almost drowned out by the live band. "Why did we get stuck with this job?" Cunningham whined

"You'd rather wash dishes?" The other man shrugged. Two other servers joined them, one Wally knew the other was a stranger. They all looked bored and Wally felt he should regale them with a story. "Y'know, you shouldn't complain about your job."

"Why not?"

"Haven't you heard the parable of 'Shit and the Bird'?"

One of the servers who had joined them began to laugh. Obviously she'd heard the allegory before.

"This is going to be interesting," Trevor commented knowingly.

Not far away a man sipped his cup of coffee, Kenya Light Roast, and listened in on the conversation between the four servers. He'd never heard the story either and despite himself could not bring himself to leave before it was over. Wally might recognize him but he looked to be rather engaged by the story he was telling and the other man had served his coffee while Wally was busy. The short story ended with a few disbelieving chuckles but it wasn't done yet.

Trevors's brows furrowed. "And the moral of this story would be…"

"People who dump shit on you aren't always your enemy."

The small group broke out in gales of laughter drawing the attention of some nearby guests. The maitre-d' came over and broke up the group of four and they went back to work.

The literal story from a metaphorical and popular expression acted by common animals was humorous even if the humour was somewhat alien to him. Though it was slow in appearing a smile crossed his face. He strolled away, blending back into the crowd and anticipating his chance for further study of this species, one on one.

It was a long hour and a half later that the last guests left. And another hour before Wally made it home. After flipping through the local news networks he went straight to bed, weary from the evening. At least the pay had been good. He'd have to thank Trevor later for hooking him up with that job. With these and similar thoughts racing through his mind sleep slowly overcame him.

The room was still for many minutes, moonlight peeking through the gaps in the blinds. Streaks of white light striped his body and his face, both relaxed in repose. The beams of the light were interrupted as a dark figure moved past. Wally shifted on the bed turning to his left side, towards the window and the intruder.

The stranger crouched down and gently caressed the pale face, counted the freckles dotting the exposed shoulder. Wally murmured something but showed not signs of awareness. The touch was absorbed into Wally's mind, adding strange details to the dreams being conjured by his subconscious.

The pale eyes stared at the sleeping young man, taking in all the details he thought he'd forgotten. It had been too long since he was this close and though he knew he shouldn't be here he couldn't stay away. He'd lasted thirteen agonizing months. Months in which he'd denied his emotions just as he did before 'he' died. So afraid of breaking the status quo then, and now he'd convinced himself that he was content. That Wally lived elsewhere and was happy was supposed to be enough but it wasn't.

As his role as his city's, and indeed the world's guardian demon faded his thoughts turned increasingly to his greatest regret, his missed chance.

His touch must have been too substantial and lingered too long. Wally began to stir.

Bleary eyes peered into the darkness. He thought he felt someone else near him, touching him. Still half asleep he tried to focus and found cool blue eyes staring at him from the darkness.

"Bruce?" he croaked. He looked away to turn on his lamp but when he looked back, nobody was there. He chalked it up to a vivid dream and after a cursory glance around the room he turned off the light and slept.

The light spilling into the corridor from beneath the bedroom door vanished and the small apartment was dark and quiet again. In the corridor a figure sat on the worn wood floor leaning against the wall. His hands were shaking from a mix of fear, excitement and deep longing.

He'd been so close. Wally had been real beneath his hand. Warm smooth skin, soft hair; his dreams and nightmares could not compare to the reality. But this was wrong. Wasn't it? He didn't belong here. He shouldn't be here but he couldn't bring himself to leave. So the conflicted man sat there for hours basking in a long vanquished presence. Wally sleeping only ten feet away never knew the dream was real.

Elsewhere at the same time Dick was speaking with Bruce Wayne, updating him on the night's events. They'd caught the Penguin while he was still making preparations for whatever his scheme had been this time and it had been a relatively easy bust.

"How's Tim?" Bruce asked.

"He's fine. How was the gala?"

"Same as always." He didn't mention Wally's attendance at the party. It's not something he would normally comment on so he wouldn't, lest Dick read something into it. "I'll be back by tomorrow night."

Dick almost told him to take his time.

"Will you be joining the rest of the time zone to sleep?" Alfred asked after he hung up.

"Soon. I just want to check up on a few things."

"Very well, sir. Good night." Alfred left to his adjacent room.

"'Nite Alfred."

After skimming through the alerts he'd put on various bank accounts and businesses, Bruce changed and went to bed. It was 3:30am when his head hit the pillows, an early night for him.

**_+JLU+ _**

The door to the main computer room opened and in walked the two brothers Hawk and Dove. The looked around the room and not spotting the one they were searching for they asked J'onn.

"Hey, have you seen the Flash? I thought he was on watch today," said Hawk the larger of the brothers.

"I've sent him to survey an area in Idaho where a small disturbance was detected." The Flash had practically been climbing the walls so when an anomaly appeared on the satellite sensors he'd sent the speedster to investigate.

Dove thought about it for a second. "Idaho. So he'll be back in a couple of minutes then?"

"Most likely."

"You mind if we wait for him here?" Hank sat down in Flash's vacated chair without waiting for a response and put his feet up on the console. J'onn looked at Dove who could only shrug apologetically for his brother's behaviour.

J'onn returned to the monitors contemplating the wisdom of have the three musketeers in the same room while he was trying to work. His ear piece buzzed to life with a transmission from the Flash.

"Yo, J'onn. I'm here but I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Just lots of fields."

"Make one more circuit of the area just in case."

"Alright." A minute later there was another transmission. "Hey, I found something!"

"What is it?"

"Uh…I have no idea. It looks like a metal ball but it's sorta glowing." Flash moved closer to the strange object. It wasn't that big -about half a foot in diameter. "There's some kind of engraving on it. It might be an alien language."

Thinking that perhaps this object had fallen from space J'onn was quite curious. "Flash I'm going to link our minds so that I can see the object as well."

"…okay…" was the unsure response but he didn't resist when he felt something tingling in his head. It stopped suddenly and Flash felt the same. "J'onn?"

"I see it." Through the Flash, the Martian gazed at the object and the inscriptions. The language was familiar but he couldn't place where he'd seen it before. "Have you seen anyone in the area?"

"No. This is pretty much the middle of nowhere. I haven't –hey!"

Through Flash's eyes J'onn watched as the object began to glow brighter and shoot out bolts of energy at the speedster who dodge the shots. Almost before he could react another series of blasts came from a different direction. There was more than one of these things hidden in the field.

He dodged the blasts but the constant barrage made finding an escape routed difficult. He took a sharp, near unimaginable turn and the small contraptions struggled to keep up. He thought he was in the clear but directly in his path another bolt came straight at him. He tried to avoid it but the blast caught him in the leg and suddenly the limb was numb and useless. He crashed to the ground.

"Flash are you alright?" The voice was in his head not his ear so J'onn's mind must still have been connected to his.

"My, leg! I can't move it!" He looked up and saw the long grass being disturbed as the weird little weapons rolled towards him. J'onn saw too.

"I'm sending help." Just then one of the spherical weapons emerged from the grass. It rolled to a stop not a foot in front of him and before Flash could do anything it fired another shot. This time the prey was incapacitated as the head shot was dead on.

Light blinded his eyes and jolts of electricity course through his nervous system until he could not even hold himself up and he collapsed to the ground. Back at the base J'onn felt the same thing over their link. His sudden scream shocked Hawk and Dove and as he fell from his seat Hawk caught him.

"J'onn! Are you alright?"

His usually orange eyes were glowing yellow indicating he was still using his telepathy, thus still experiencing the Flash's sensory responses. In the speedster's eyes the world began to fade but as it did someone walked into his line of sight, someone Wally recognized.

"You," Wally and J'onn whispered simultaneously before both succumb to unconsciousness.

**End Chapter 3 – Wonderful to Behold**

Yay! Another Chapter finito! I like J'onn. He reminds me of the Vulcans from Star Trek. Y'know, those pointy-eared guys. I don't actually know if J'onn can do that -connect his mind with people- in the show but this is fiction right, so why not? Anyway, you know the drill. Review button is below. Come on, click it. You know you want to… :)

Sagga…


	4. Ecce Homo

Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Summary: While Wally tries to get his life back on track new and old enemies make a move on the league, abducting an important member.

Disclaimer: The DC characters are not mine. I'm just playing with them. They'll be returned…eventually, not in good condition but that can hardly be blamed on me!

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. Some of the comments really had me thinking (and revising). I'm glad that you could see where Wally was coming from with his independence/not-asking-for-help thingy. I'll get more into it in the next part (not so much the next chapter, sorry). The next part deals with a lot of 'why's (at least that's the plan). Anyway, enjoy!

**Chapter 4 – Ecce Homo**

They were the reason Iris and Barry hadn't adopted him. They'd been in the middle of the evaluations to make sure that they would be suitable parents when Iris found out she was pregnant, with twins no less. The unexpected pregnancy had plunged all their plans into chaos. They'd need a new house, one with four bedrooms. The house they had in only had three, two of which were being used as offices for Iris and Barry to work out of. Shopping for all of the babies' clothing, toys, furniture and putting funds away for their future was going to make their financial situation that much more unstable and in the end they'd been unable to adopt Wally West, Iris's nephew.

Iris remembered Wally's heartbroken expression when they'd told him that he wouldn't be living with them. He didn't cry, just nodded sadly and walked away, back into the group home. Iris and Barry had felt terrible. This was the second time Wally had been given the promise of a new family only to have it fall through.

It was a turbulent eight and a half months later that Dawn and then Don had been born. The next day Barry had brought Wally to the hospital to meet his new cousins. The twins were being held in the intensive care nursery for a few days just for observation.

Wally's face had pinched in pre-teen disgust at the wriggling blobs in the cribs but eventually they'd grown on him. He'd fallen in love with them the moment he got to hold them and Barry had captured the moment in a photo, now framed and hanging proudly in what had almost been Wally's home too.

That's why they were so surprised and worried when Saturday came and went with no Wally stopping by to pick up the twins for their outing to the park. While Iris consoled her disappointed children, Barry was on the phone calling Wally's apartment, his cell phone, the police department garage where he worked and even some of his friends looking for him. There was no response from Wally's numbers and nobody had seen him since Thursday.

"Anything?" Iris asked as Barry hung up the phone.

He shook his head staring at the receiver. Something had gone terribly wrong, he just knew it.

**_+JLU+ _**

The latest addition to the Metropolis skyline stood proudly on the waterfront and reflected the bright, late spring sun. Massive panes of reinforced and darkly tinted glass hid a steel and concrete skeleton and would provide protection against any direct assault launched on the complex. It was only a few days old and there were still some minor additions and touching-up to be done but with the current situation they'd been eager to move in take advantage of the state-of-the-art equipment.

Superman walked into the new command centre in the new watch tower, twenty-six stories up. With a design reminiscent of the orbiting watch tower it invoked a pleasant feeling of nostalgia but rather than a view of the entire earth they were limited to the urban jungle of Metropolis. There'd been no celebration and no ceremony when the new Watch Tower was opened. The historic significance of even this was, for now, overshadowed by the problem they faced.

Diana was currently on watch and at his approach she shook her head to the question she knew Clark was about to ask. No, there was no new information regarding Flash's disappearance. Green Lantern, Batman and Question had all checked out the area in Idaho where he'd vanished but other than some scorched grass and a few depressions in the earth where the orbs had rested nothing was found.

J'onn couldn't help them out either. Forty-eight hours since he'd fallen unconscious and he had yet to wake. He'd been moved to the new high-tech medical facility of the new Watch Tower as soon as it was ready and the doctors did what they could.

"Green Lantern is checking Central City, again. Don't think he'll find anything but he needs to keep busy," Wonder Woman informed.

"Superman, Wonder Woman," called Mr. Terrific from the lower level. He was helping keep the order as the search for Flash and other League missions went on simultaneously. "J'onn awake in the infirmary."

The new infirmary was a lot like the last one but bigger. They'd acquired some of the latest medical diagnostics equipment and a few new technicians to run it. They'd also put more private rooms in the infirmary affording the patients more solitude.

When Superman and Wonder Woman arrived Batman was already there at J'onn's bedside in one of the private rooms.

"How are you feeling?" Clark asked of the Martian.

"I'm fine. Is Flash alright?"

Batman answered before either of the others found their tongue. "We don't know. He's missing. Can you remember anything?"

"Flash said he'd found something, some sort of orb with script on it. I connected our minds." He shook his head trying to clear the memories. "They attacked him. One shot to his leg, the other to his head."

"It probably just stunned him," said Superman, hoping that the headshot hadn't been fatal.

"Hawk said you saw someone. Just before you fell unconscious you said 'You.' Who did you see?"

J'onn thought for a few seconds. The last image he had before blacking out was somewhat blurry in his mind but Flash had recognised the person. Unfortunately his tenuous connection with Flash's mind had been fading at the time and he hadn't felt where the recognition came from.

"I don't know. Flash knew him, I don't know from where. I all I know was it was a man. I'm sorry." If he'd remembered more, if he'd stayed awake for one more second he might have been able to tell them more. Maybe even enough to save the Flash.

"It's not your fault, J'onn," said the Amazon as she placed a hand on the Martian's shoulder. "We'll find him."

J'onn didn't comment on the likelihood of her statement. "There was something written on the orbs. I couldn't read it but the script seemed familiar."

"Check through the database. Maybe something will job your memory."

J'onn nodded to Superman's suggestion and got off the bed. He was feeling a little tired but he couldn't just sit back while one of their own was missing.

"Excuse me," and young woman poked her head into the room. She was a new Doctor working for the League. "There's something on TV you might want to see."

The four of them followed the woman to the Infirmary waiting area where a monitor was tuned in to one of the major news networks. On the screen was one of their most hated enemies, Lex Luthor. He'd been released for prison on bail. The original judge had decided to remand him to a penitentiary pending trial but a new judge –the old one had recused herself after Luthor's savvy lawyer brought something up- overturned the motion and set staggering amount for bail that Luthor still managed to post.

Now that he was relatively free he was free to run his mouth and of course his first target was the Justice League. Luthor's press conference was packed with media officials and the headline on the ticker at the bottom of the screen read: 'Lex Luthor former LexCorp CEO released on bail after new judge rescinds remand order.'

"I can't believe they let him go. After what he tried to do," said Diana her faith in the world of man diminishing a measure.

"Money and power can even sway justice," Superman said under his breath as he listened to Lex's speech. He was dropping hints about the Justice League, about how out of control they were. He even made allusions to the Justice Lords.

Batman listened to the way he delivered his oration, like he was just another citizen, no different from anyone else. He knew what he was up to. "He's trying to win public support."

'I can tell you one more thing for sure. They're regular people too. Like you an me. And if you look close enough you'll find they have no right to hand down they're mockery of justice just because their…faster…than us.'

They all heard it, the pregnant pause before and the emphasis he put on 'faster' and given the situation it was more than a coincidence. "He knows something," said Superman, always the first to be suspicious of Luthor. In this case, as in most, the others were in agreement with him.

The speech ended with Luthor getting into his black limo, his bodyguard and chauffer, Mercy, still providing both services as she quickly drove away. The news station's anchor returned to the screen recapping the speech. All those in the medical wing who'd been watching the show turned to see the reaction of the superheroes but found them to be already gone.

"What do you think he meant by all that?" one of the nurses asked. Nobody answered.

**_+JLU+_**

A headache and a stark, cold cell was all that greeted him when the Flash suddenly regained consciousness. He lay on a metal slab protruding from a wall at about knee height. The bright white lights running from ceiling to floor at the corners of the room made him wince and hold his throbbing head.

Sitting still for a few minutes allowed the pain to recede and after a deep, sturdy breath he gingerly sat up and lowered his feet to the floor of the small cell. Squinted eyes looked around wondering if something was going to jump out of the wall. He'd been in too many weird cells not to be suspicious. When nothing happened after a few seconds he stood up and wandered around the small confine.

The walls were sturdy and when he pounded against them they sounded pretty thick. He wasn't going to be able to break out and there didn't seem to be any weak spots. The entrance to his cell was locked tight and as he painfully discovered, electrified. He tried to vibrate his arm through but it was impervious to his attempts and each one came with another jarring shock.

"Terrific," Wally said to himself. "How do I always manage to get into situations like this?" He squinted and turned away from one light only to find himself facing another. Even when he closed his eyes it was bright. He couldn't get any relief for the lights and his head was mounting a new protest. The only solution that came to mind was to lie face down on the uncomfortable metal slab.

He lay down, resting his head on his folded arms but swore the lights just got brighter. If this was some sort of torture he had the sickening feeling that it was working.

**_+JLU+_**

Superman landed on the balcony of the penthouse condominium suite. The glass door was already open, either an oversight or he'd been expected. It was the latter; there were never any oversights when Luthor was involved.

"I'm surprised you managed to hold out so long. I expected you earlier," Luthor said as he walked into the room with a glass of brandy. The sun was setting, his press conference over hours ago.

"Where is he?" Superman didn't waste any time.

Lex looked mildly shocked. "What, no pleasantries? No 'how are you'? It's good to see you?'"

"I'd be lying."

"And we all know Superman doesn't lie. You didn't even give me a chance to offer you a drink. Or would alcohol upset your puritan sensibilities? Of course you can't drink and fly…"

"Stop playing around! You have information that I want!"

Luthor took a long sip of the brown clear liquid before taking his time answering. "What would make you think that? I think you're hearing things where there's nothing. You've always been a little too paranoid," another sip, "and a little slow." Lex turned his back to the Kryptonian clearly not worried about being attacked, not yet anyway. "If someone's missing you should probably try and find him. I'd be quick about it. Everyone breaks sooner or later."

Superman felt just the slightest amount to heat building up in his eye but ignored it and the red beginning to tinge his vision. He was sick of being manipulated by Luthor. He was fed up with saving the planet and still having people distrust him. They were so ready to listen to Luthor and believe the worst about the Justice League, while blissfully ignoring all the good they'd done. Luthor had become the icon of the anti-JL movement, maybe too apt and appointment.

Superman left without another word. Once in the air he contacted the Bat-Cave.

"Anything?" Batman's asked.

"No." The clipped tone was uncharacteristic of Superman and behind his cowl Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"Anything else?"

"He does know something but he's not willing to give up his information. Not until it suits him."

"I'll take a look at his records; see if there are any clues there."

Superman was tempted to tell him not to waste his time because Luthor was too smart to leave a trail but they were desperate.

**_+JLU+_**

Batman cut off the link with Superman and was about to start his investigation into Luthor's activities when a sound caught his attention. He'd heard the secret entrance slide open when he was talking with Superman but had assumed that it was just Alfred of Tim. Listening carefully he knew it wasn't. The footsteps weren't right. It was neither the smooth, graceful steps of his butler and surrogate father, nor the hasty march of his second adoptive son.

"You haven't learnt a single thing have you?" The eerie voice confirmed his hypothesis. The strong but measured steps and the deep, full voice, they were his.

"You shouldn't be here."

"I'm you remember. You're not telling be anything I don't already know." Batman finally turned around and saw what he already knew to be true with his own eyes. His doppelganger walked around the cave scrutinizing. He stopped before he the glass enclosure holding Robin's old uniform. "It's a waste to suffer and then forget the lesson."

Batman kept his voice as hard as granite when he responded. "That was your lesson, not mine."

"It was our lesson!" It didn't strike Batman as odd that could manipulate this copy of himself. This man had been broken and rebuilt but not as strong as the original. The cracks were visible to Batman's knowing eye and like a master diamond cutter, the right tap on the right place and even what was strong would falter.

The alternate universe Bruce advanced on Batman. He twisted his hands into the heavy cape where it fastened around Batman's collar. "I let you go so that you could protect…"

"Protect what?"

He shook his head. "Protect _whom._" His hands loosened at the admission and then released. "They were better off with us in power. Peace, for the first time since civilization reared its ugly, self-obsessed head." A half smile twisted his lips. "In the end, we suffered the most. We lost." He stared up at the dark ceiling catching the outline of bats shifting in the darkness. "Lords that we were…"

Confession's good for the soul, the alternate Bruce thought and couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. He felt he'd sold his a while ago.

**_+JLU+_**

An indeterminate amount of time had passed when the door to his cell opened. A pair of aqua-skinned people- man and one woman- in unfamiliar uniforms stood in the doorway, each armed with a nasty looking weapon. Too bad they didn't have time to use them before the Flash struck. He breezed past them before their unconscious bodies hit the ground.

The light in the corridor was much dimmer than his cell and it was a welcome relief to his eyes and his brain. He skidded to a halt at an intersection hoping to find one of those little posters with the layout and a "you are here" sticker but no such luck. This wall, like all the others he'd passed, was barren.

"They must have something against interior decorating." He glanced around expecting to see armed guards round a corner to try and recapture him but it was quiet. "Too quiet," he mumbled to himself.

He chose and ran down another unmarked corridor hoping to find something labelled "exit" but eventually he found himself back outside his cell, only the guards he'd knocked out were missing.

He gave an aggravated sigh and leaned and against a wall. What was he supposed to do now? He'd been running in circles.

"Are you done now?"

Startled from his thoughts Flash jumped to a ready stance. He recognized the voice. It was that same one that had been in this mind, tormenting him with his past. He'd been expecting him to come around sooner or later.

"You're rather entertaining but I do have other things to attend to." A charming smile graced the handsome face.

"Well don't let me keep you. Just show me the door."

"No. This time I'm not letting you go."

"As I recall the last time I saw you GL was kicking your ass." He smiled at the scowl spreading across his captors face. The smile vanished as he was suddenly shocked from behind. The two sharp contacts dug into his skin, ripping his suits and, when they were removed, drawing blood. He collapsed to his knees taking stuttered breaths as all the muscles in his body quivered in tiny aftershocks. Behind him the armada of guards he'd been expecting had shown up.

Dark shoes appeared in his narrowed field of vision and a second later a rough hand grabbed his chins forcing him to look up.

"See what you made me do?" He tilted his head to one side examining his prisoner closely as he spoke. "You disrespect me and you'll get yourself hurt. I don't want to hurt you but you have to follow the rules." He tightened his grip on the trembling superhero. "Understand?"

"Perfectly." The trembling bled away in less than a second and before he could do more than realize the last bit of tremors he'd felt were faked it was too late. The speedy punch had him sliding along the floor panels with an aching jaw and reeling mind.

The guards weren't much of a match for the Flash. As they came he knocked them away.

"Flash, stop!" A deep voice called from behind him. He looked and found Green Lantern coming towards him. The guards backed away a few paces.

"'Bout time you showed up," said Flash with relief.

"Sorry, bro. Had a hot date."

White eyes narrowed in confusion. 'Bro'? John was dating someone? How come he didn't know about this?

"So you take her to that sushi place you like so much?" he asked casually as he turned to face the guards who still had their weapons trained on him.

"Yeah. I think we'll go back again."

This was wrong. John hated sushi. He looked to his left again but John was gone, replaced with his nemesis and kidnapper. He was shocked into immobility.

"What…" he stumbled back, "where's GL?"

"He's nowhere near here. It's just you and me." Behind him all the guards began to dissolve into the air until they were truly alone in the corridor. "Watch out. The floors going to hit you," came the strange warning before floor panel beneath him began to glow and suddenly gravity more than quadrupled.

The floor did come rushing up to hit him but he got his hands out in front to lessen the blow. Struggling against the crushing force had him sweating and his recently shocked muscles began to tremble involuntarily. His left arm, still in a brace from the break he'd suffered, began to ache. He'd almost made it to his knees when the gravity increased another notch and he couldn't move any further.

"I think I like you down there." Wally spied his captor stepping onto the glowing panel but the high gravity didn't affect him. "I also think that I owe you. Yes, I owe you a great deal for what you've done. Let's start here."

A swift kick was delivered to the Flash's ribs cracking two. The pain had him seeing stars for a moment but that was only the first of many blows to come. At some point the gravity returned to normal but by then Flash couldn't hold himself up anymore and the blows continued to rain down on his already battered body.

When it stopped he was face down barely able to breathe in consequence of the damage done to his ribs. He was gently turned onto his back by the same man responsible for his condition.

"You made me do this." A gentle hand traced over the injuries to his chest. "You ruined it. You owe me." The gentle hand trailed up to his face, devoid of injuries except of a bruise to his cheek. "We have an appointment to keep, Wally." The stunned reaction on the half covered face was everything he'd hoped. The wide eyes, slightly parted lips, even the anxiety reddening his face. He'd never tire of the way these people emote. He could read Flash's expression like a book. He was asking himself how. How did he know?

He leaned into Wally's ear covered by the yellow bolt of his costume and whispered, "I'm in your head."

**_+JLU+_**

Shayera paced angrily. It'd been two days and there had been no trace of the Flash. They'd looked everywhere! A foot from the dark wall she turned and began another round. GL absently watched from where he sat at a computer console. He was tempted to kick a chair towards her and tell her to cut it out but in the mood she was in he expected the chair to come back flying at his head.

"I'm heading out," she suddenly stated.

"Again?"

"Well, have we found him yet?"

The door to the room slid open and Kara and Ollie walked in. They didn't even need to ask if any progress had been made in the search for Flash. The whole League had been put on alert and everyone was keeping their ear to the ground. While Luthor was still the priority suspect they couldn't rule out that someone else had done it. There were too many crooks out there with the intellect to pull this off.

"Mr. Terrific has the scanners set to pick up any anomalous signals on the comm. channels. Flash might try to contact us," said Green Arrow knowing that it was a long shot.

Green Lantern turned to face the console with the myriad of monitors. Muted news reports were playing on a few and some other data slipped past on a few others. The new tower had a system that scanned the news and radio stations picking out and displaying reports wherever the key word entered into the search parameter was found. It wasn't a perfect system, often displaying completely unrelated programs where the key words had been said only by coincidence. According to the developers of the program it did save time and it did on occasion work.

Green Lantern had entered a few words pertaining to the situation into the search in another long shot attempt to find any clues about their missing colleague but was not expecting anything. They had no leads, no threats, no evidence but that soon changed.

In quick succession the screens all changed to what appeared to be the same show. It had poor lighting and the set looked unprofessional. At first he thought it was a glitch and was about to restart to program when a familiar face filled the screen. The Dark hair, cruel eyes, severe jaw-line, even the arrogance was transmitted through the image on the screen. Stewart turned on the sound and hushed the conversation going on behind him.

'Allow me to introduce myself. I am Doctor Vril Dox of Colu and I'd like to invite the people of planet Earth to share in a secret.'

"Who is that?" Shayera asked not seeing why John had such a sudden interest in what was obviously a low budget program. Standing just a few feet behind them Kara's brows furrowed. Colu –she knew that name, but from where?

When Nightwing's communication unit beeped in his ear he just assumed Batman was checking up on him, yet again. It wasn't like he'd never been here before and he wasn't expecting to find anything of importance. Wally's apartment was in its usually state of moderate disarray that it always was. Still, at least he was doing something to help even if it only helped ease his mind.

He answered the summons, "What is it?"

"Turn on the TV."

Nightwing turned to the medium sized TV in Wally's apartment.

"To what channel?"

"Any channel."

Nightwing knew better than to ask why. If his question was going to be answered by doing as he was told Batman wouldn't respond.

He picked up the remote resting on the couch and pushed the power button. A second or two after the characteristic 'ping' of the device coming to life the screen faded out from black to colour. A man's face filled the screen.

"It's him," Dick said in astonishment.

Work had ground to a sudden and complete halt. Everyone stood around a television staring curiously at the unusual program.

"It's on every channel." Lois demonstrated, changing the channels but the program remained constant. "How did they do this?"

"This is going to be something big," Jimmy Olsen mumbled, eyes riveted to the screen. Around them other Daily Planet employees stared up at the screen mounted in a corner of the break room. Next to Jimmy and Lois, Clark Kent stared at the unfamiliar man on the screen wondering what agenda he felt the world needed to hear.

'You've admired them, revered them for their morals and their unfailing sense of justice. You trusted them yet they clearly do not hold you in the same regard.' The screen changed parading the faces of numerous Justice League members. The man's voice continued. 'Superman, Blue Beetle, Green Lantern, Supergirl, Batman, and many more; they parade around bringing criminals to justice, saving thousands of people from the overwhelming wraths of nature, yet they hide. Who are these people and why, if they are doing so much good do they choose conceal their faces, hide their identities?'

Clark felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach.

'Perhaps they're not as noble as they'd like you to believe. They are, after all, vigilantes. So I pose this question to you, people of earth: do you want to know who your heroes really are?'

Word had spread quickly and now nearly every screen in the Watch Tower was active with Justice League members looking on in worry.

'I'm sure you'll be disappointed, but I think that you deserve to know the face behind the power or in this case the face behind the speed.'

"Oh God, no," Green Lantern whispered in the silent room.

"Can we interfere with the transmission?" Shayera asked dashing to a computer.

"I don't even know where it's coming from."

'As I'm sure you've guessed I have with me the fastest man alive, guardian of Central City, The Flash.' Vril stepped out of the way and the camera panned out to show the full view of the Flash. Arms bound behind his back and head hanging limply down, the guards on either side held him upright, his legs being unable to support him.

"Shit!" Nightwing vaulted over the couch and crouched in front of the TV trying to see every detail in the poor picture of the old set.

Pieces of the red suit had been torn away revealing the vivid discolouration of bruised flesh beneath. It was clear given the Flash's unresponsiveness that these injuries were the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

A hand gesture mostly cut off by the camera angle had the two guards roughly dragging the Flash forward and pushing him to his knees. An audibly hitch in already laboured breathing when his knees impacted the hard floor was the only sign that the Flash was even minutely aware of what was going on.

Diana's hands clinched into tight fists. Her nails pressed into her palm with such force they threatened to break the skin. The grip only eased when J'onn placed a steady green hand on her shoulder.

'Aren't you going to greet your adoring public?' Vril asked walking behind the stooped hero.

'Go to hell,' was the mumbled response.

Vril shook his head. 'What kind of example are you setting for the children with language like that?' He stepped up behind Flash and with a hand under his chin yanked the speedsters head up so that his masked face could be seen. 'You are after all one of their favourites. So friendly and genuine, honest and admittedly fallible –you perhaps, of all the Justice League, are most like the people you try so hard to protect. I think that they'd like to meet the young man behind the mask.'

His attempt to break free was to no avail, the hand grasping his chin firmly enough that it would leave finger shaped bruises. Vril's other hand came slowly across his eyes obscuring his vision and grasped the bottom of his mask. The teaser over, no time was wasted in removing it. A violent jerk and the mask was ripped completely free from the rest of the red costume.

Time stood still. For a moment silence gripped all those who watched.

The hand under his chin let go and Wally's head dropped. The grip was re-established in his hair a second later, rough fingers tangling the red strands in a vicious fist. Vril yanked backwards forcing Wally to face the camera and face the world.

'I'd like to introduce to you Wallace West, your "hero".'

**End Chapter 4 – Behold the Man**

Vril Dox in this story is not precisely the same character he was in the comics. I haven't actually read many of the comics but I think I've got a general idea. I don't want to give anything away so I can only say "stay tuned." All will be explained in due time. : ) Now press the "submit review" button. You know you want to:D

Sagga Bott…


	5. Coram Populo

Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Summary: While Wally tries to get his life back on track new and old enemies make a move on the league, abducting an important member.

Disclaimer: The DC characters are not mine. I'm just playing with them. They'll be returned…eventually, not in good condition but that can hardly be blamed on me!

Author's Note: Hello again! I thought I'd take this opportunity to answer some Q's. Barry Allen is not, was not and never will be a Flash in this universe. He doesn't have any powers. So far, Wally is the only Flash, ever. I know this doesn't jive with the comic universe but it works out okay for the animated one. Just to let you know, the situation gets worse for Wally so take the warnings seriously if you're squeamish.

Warning(s): Violence. Torture - Not too bad but bad better safe than sorry.

**Chapter 5 – Coram Populo**

"You can't just throw a costume on me and say I'm the Flash!" Wally protested, hoping to somehow salvage his secret. He winced as his hair was released after a parting jerk. He struggled to keep his head up, so fatigued where his muscles, but he wanted to keep an eye on Dox as the man walked around to get in front of him.

"You think you're clever?" It was half-statement and half-question.

West just stared up at him. He saw the kick coming but restrained as he was, he was unable to avoid it.

Dawn turned away, burying her face in her mother's leg. Her fingers dug into the pant and tensed at each one of her cousin's laboured breaths. Iris Allen absently ran a hand through her daughter's hair trying to bring comfort to the little girl seated on the carpet in front of the couch.

'Pick him up,' Dox ordered and the blond, blue skinned guards hauled Wally from the floor and held him upright while he wheezed trying to recapture the breath that had been forced out of him. When he was upright once again Vril unleashed a hard punch aimed at Wally's face. His head whipped to the side sending droplets of blood into the air from his split lip.

Barry gently turned his son's head away from the TV. He pulled the child down from his perch on the armrest to his lap. Don didn't resist as his father put an arm around his back and hand up to his eyes, keeping his face averted from the TV.

'I suppose even heroes,' Vril wiped his fingers through the blood from Wally's lip and held it up to the camera 'have the right to bleed.'

The TV in the Allen house was flicked off leaving a strained silence. Beneath Barry's arm Don's shoulders shook as he valiantly held back his tears. Barry haphazardly dropped the remote and eased loose the tight fist twisted into his shirt. He understood the helpless anger that his son felt and all he could do to ease it was hold the smaller hand in his.

Vril wiped the blood on his pant. 'It's somewhat pathetic though.' He glanced back and his dazed detainee then looked into the camera. 'I told you you'd be disappointed. But I've only just scratched the surface. My challenge to you: to find the truth about Mr. West and make your own assessment. Should the likes of him really be judging you?'

A second after Vril's parting question the televisions returned to their normal programming. Live shows that had been interrupted returned to sets with empty chairs or confounded anchors looking at each other for some clue as to proper procedure for the situation.

"Kent! Lane!" Perry White, editor of the Daily Planet and Clark's boss yelled over the murmurs. "I want you two to find everything about this kid. DOB, address, occupation, family, income, hell, even his favourite movie! Got it?"

Clark couldn't muster any sort of response but the ever eager Lois jumped in with a 'yes, sir.'

"Come on Smallville! This is big! Get your ass in gear!"

Kent sat numbly in his chair and stared at his computer screen. He wanted to wake up.

Batman slowly tore his gaze from the screen. Awash with thoughts and contingencies he barely noticed his double as he spoke.

"Make sure there's nothing there for looters to find," the alternate Bruce told Nightwing.

"I'm on it." There was a touch of resentment in the response. He knew enough to know people would come looking for evidence. Batman didn't need to tell him. Dick abruptly cut the link.

"I've missed talking to him. Things have been strained since the Justice Lords disbanded." Bruce sighed silently and hung his head. He was stalling, waiting for the true gravity of the situation to sink in to his mind. It always took a second or two for the natural response, not the trained one of analyse and react, to make it to the surface. Too many years on his toes –getting back to normal wasn't easy.

Batman was already analysing and responding, his fingers tapping furiously at the keys of his powerful computer. As he worked a part of his mind tried to recall a time when things hadn't been strained between him and Dick. It seemed like ages ago. Still it wasn't surprising that in the other universe's Dick had embraced the Justice Lord's version of peace. A victim of crime himself and so deep in the endless struggle against it, it must have made sense to that Dick Grayson.

"The computer can't find the source of the transmission. It's been bounced off too many satellites and too many transmission towers." Batman didn't spare a glance at his counterpart; he wondered why he was even speaking to him. He wasn't going to tell him to go, not now, but he'd be damned if he asked him to stay.

"Well then you better figure something out." Bruce didn't wait for an invitation to help. He claimed the far console for his own and worked.

_**JLU **_

He was hungry. That was his foremost concern at the moment. Not what one would have expected considering his situation. After the worldwide announcement that Vril Dox had made he'd been dragged to another room and manhandled into shackles on a cold metal slab. The guards had then left and Flash had only his discomfort to keep him company.

Directly above him there was a bright light. It was almost as bad as the ones in his cell. Though not as intense the light still managed to incense his already aching head. Its other effect, arguably the more disconcerting of the two was keeping him from seeing the rest of the room. With that light in his face his eyes couldn't adjust and the space outside the cone of illumination remained clouded in a dark haze.

So, left with nothing but his imagination and his own aches, he tried to take his mind off what might happen next and his stomach was a convenient distraction.

He really was hungry. They hadn't fed him since he'd been taken hostage and it was taking its toll. His whole body felt slow and heavy and his mind was becoming sluggish. Even if he found a way out of these shackles –he pulled on them feeling how sturdy they were –there was little chance he'd be able to escape.

"I could make this easier for you," Vril's unexpected voice said from the darkness. "You could make this easier for you."

Wally looked around unable to pinpoint precisely where he stood.

"There are some things I need to know. About the Justice League mostly, but about you as well."

"Why?" The hoarseness of his voice was unexpected. The air was really dry and he was really thirsty.

"I like knowing things." From the darkness a hand held out a cup of water with a straw and moved it to his lips. He didn't open his mouth to drink it. There was no telling what it could be laced with.

"It's safe." He sounded sincere but there was no way Flash was going to fall for it. "Fine." Dox placed the grey cup next Wally's head on the flat slab and positioned the straw so that it was within reach of his lips, "In the event that you change your mind." He stepped out of the light, Flash following his movements with his ears. He heard but didn't see a door slide open and then close. He could only assume he was alone once again.

A ragged sigh of relief passed his lips, one swollen and coloured bright red with blood. He was thankful for the reprieve, especially since he knew it would not last. West looked back at the cup next to him. It could be safe but it could also be drugged and there was no way for him to tell. The more the thought about the possibilities the more his head hurt. He just wanted to eat and sleep.

With a quick jerk of his head he knocked the cup over spilling its contents. The liquid spread outwards, soon tracing a cool wet trail along his shoulder while most of it dripped off the edge to the floor. He watched the pool grow and felt a meagre amount of satisfaction in his only available act of defiance.

Outside the room Vril Dox listened to the sound of the cup toppling over.

"He'll defy us until the end."

Dox turned to his second in command. "You give these creatures too much credit. His actions now only narrow his options later. He'll continue to thirst and when he finally does drink, that cup, like all the others, will have Nam in it.

"You could just force him to take it now," she suggested.

"He's not ready yet. I need him in just the right mental state." His eyes went distant for an extended moment. "In the mean time, we need to be subtle. As hard as that will be for you."

He walked away whistling. She cringed at the tune and glared at his back. He'd changed. Maybe the others were right and he really was crazy. Maybe the procedure that changed his natural blue-green skin to light tan and white hair to dark brown had affected his mind too. But she'd been seeing it for a long time now, long before they came to this unfortunate planet. They'd been at this for more than three decades and he'd become increasingly more eccentric and obsessive. He had not time for her, not that he'd ever given her much previously.

She looked at the closed doors where the earthling lay on the other side and contemplated why it was him. What was Vril's fascination with such an unremarkable being?

_**JLU **_

Elongated Man had himself literally stretched out on one of the couches of the new lounge. It was pretty spiffy in his opinion. Big screen TV with bigger sound, high end computer consoles (which he planned to use for games), comfortable chairs, and the styles actually matched. All and all he liked it and had already been making plans to get a game system installed on the big TV. He and Flash could play the more high-tech version of Brawlin' Bots, if they ever found him.

"We can't just sit here anymore," Hank said over the murmurs of the others.

Many had assembled to the lounge in order to discuss the situation at hand. They'd all seen the dramatic unmasking of the Flash on TV and if you missed it, no problem. All the news stations were showing the footage over and over again.

"He's out there somewhere, with a psycho and they keep telling us to wait."

"We don't usually do missing person's cases," a female voice commented from the crowd.

"We take any case that has a criminal with unusual abilities. I think this counts." Dove backed up his brother. "Whether Wally West is the Flash or not shouldn't matter."

"He's right," said Green Arrow. His opinion carried a lot of weight in the group. He was one of them, a superhero, but he was also just human, endowed with no special powers. He always saw it from both sides.

"Then why are they just waiting around?" asked Vixen. She knew that Green Lantern and Flash were very close. This delay just didn't seem right.

A few floors up the Superman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman were gathered around the table in the briefing room. Displayed in front of them was all the information they'd been able to collect. The new Watch Tower had briefing tables equipped with holo-screens which let them display information in a three-dimensional image. Just above the surface of the table floated a somewhat translucent image of the globe and its artificial satellites. Around the orb red lines jumped around the globe in jagged lines often branching and bunching as the signal was split and recombined. This was the pattern their cutting edge computer had tracked. Soon it the whole globe was covered in the red stitches but it stalled there.

GL struck the table top. The image flickered. "This is getting us nowhere."

"We need to plan this out," Clark countered calmly. He pressed a button at his end of the table and the sphere vanished. If he pressed a little harder than was necessary nobody commented on it.

"Who knows what's happening to him? We need to do something"

Superman looked back down at the information they had on paper and held out a hand to stall anymore comments. "If we don't do this carefully we'll blow his identity completely."

"I think Dr. Vril Dox managed to do that pretty well on his own," scoffed Shayera.

Diana intervened. "Flash did give a viable alibi. You can get our costumes just about anywhere, especially around Halloween. But if we go out and search for the Flash they'll put together that Wally is the Flash. If we just search for Wally then they'll want to see the real Flash. But for now, they really have not proof."

"Who needs proof?" They turned to J'onn who had just walked in. He went straight to one of the screens on the wall and turned it on. The screen quickly filled with chaos.

'The apartment of Wallace West, the young man suspected to be the Flash, has been subject to repeated break-ins. Police and neighbours have been unable to prevent the looting but WNN and its affiliates do not condone this behaviour and will not be interviewing anyone with supposed evidence gained from the illegal activities.'

"That's really big of you. Instead you're just going to show the footage all over the world," John snarled. "We have to do something," he turned back to the rest of the group. "This can't continue."

"We don't have any leads," Diana announced despondently. She understood John's desire for action, she felt it herself. All they needed now was some evidence to point them in the right direction. Unfortunately Vril had covered his tracks too well.

The show on the screen changed to a news talk show and after only a few seconds of the program Stewart was sick of it. He turned it off and went back to the data.

_**JLU **_

A sudden deluge of cold water brought him to full wakefulness but his comprehension lagged behind.

"Rise and shine. I believe that's the term your people use."

Wally recognized the voice; Dr. Vril Dox. Which meant this wasn't a dream and he really was being held at some unknown location, with little chance of escaping and more pain looming in the future –terrific.

He soon realised that he was upright. His hands were above his head, bound in metal cuffs hanging from the ceiling and his feet in braces mounted in the floor. He was completely immobile.

"They're unbreakable," a woman said from his right. She flipped a piece of blond hair that had escaped from the high ponytail from her face and walked over. West would have thought her to be pretty if it weren't for the cold, calculating look in her eye. That was kind of a turn off. "Hexavanitanium. Strongest stuff there is. They'll hold. You won't." From her belt she pulled out a slender black rod. The tip was held close to his face and when she pressed a button two prongs flipped out, their sharp tips mere millimetres from his cheek.

"I'm sure you remember this. I got you in the back with it once already."

How could he forget that? He'd only been their guest for a short time when they managed to get the jump on him and jab him in the back. His whole body had seized with the electrical shocks. It had taken him minutes to recover from that brief attach and he'd been in better health than he was now. The memory of the pain had him rearing back from the device as she pushed it closer to him.

"Yall's really quite talented with it," Vril commented from where he was leaning against a wall. He hadn't made her his first officer because she was pretty and did everything he said, but that hadn't hurt. "Trained by the best."

"Maybe she should go get recertified and then come back later," Flash commented.

She grabbed his hair and yanked back hard. His arms strained against the force and the cuffs around his wrists bit into the material of his costume.

"But I'm in a good mood now." She said without any real heat but here eyes were chilling. This was just a job to her, a means to an ends. He wasn't sure whether that was better or worse.

She let go and stepped away. Flash hauled himself into a more comfortable position and hoped that the session was over. He was feeling dizzy and his head was still aching. He just wanted them to go away and let him sleep.

"They say the anticipation of pain is worse than pain itself," Vril stated as Yall removed her outer jacket and dropped it to the floor. "I have a collection from across the galaxy. It's kind of a hobby." He gestured to some innocuous-looking devices laid on a table.

"I prefer knitting."

Vril smirked, highly amused by his spirit. "Of course I'd like you to know what you're anticipating. Show him Yall."

He hooked a foot around the leg of a nearby stool and sat down to enjoy the show. He didn't usually watch but Yall didn't comment. She calmly approached. Wally was already bracing himself but he could not hold out against the onslaught.

Mere moments later his scream filled the room and his body jerked and twisted in agony. From his seat Vril's smile slipped away as he watched the face of his captive. He was awed.

_**JLU **_

He awoke from his nightmare with a start. The hand on his shoulder squeezed for a moment before letting go.

"I thought I'd bring you out of that. It didn't sound pleasant," Bruce said as he continued to search through the Bat-Computer.

Batman didn't know when exactly he fell asleep or how long he'd been out for. He'd been awake for over 48 hours; the most recent of them spent searching for the Flash and having no luck. A vague sense of disappointment in himself formed as he thought of the time he'd lost in slumber, but it looked as though his alternate self had kept up the search during his sojourn from the waking world.

"You're still here." His voice was a little coarser than usual.

"You need my help."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. You shouldn't argue with someone who knows you as well as I do. I've been places you can't imagine."

"Yes, I can. You should leave. You're going to upset something being here." There was not telling how sensitive time and their dimension could be in this situation.

Bruce didn't respond only continued his work. Batman held back an aggravated sigh. From the looks of it they were no closer of finding where Vril was holding Flash and he still had the most annoying sidekick imaginable to deal with.

Batman pulled back his cowl and ran a gloved-hand through his hair. He hadn't had a good night's rest in too long but he'd only toss and turn if he tried to go to bed now. Not matter how drained he felt, he knew that a restless mind was his leading cause for insomnia.

"What's this?" the alternate Bruce asked. He'd opened an active file and found a strange catalogue of anomalies that a group of Wayne Tech satellites had picked logged.

"Some surveillance I had been running, but since it was just you. I can close it." He reached up to do just that but the other Bruce stopped him.

"What makes you so sure?"

"The inter-dimensional portal is capable of making anomalies like these and knowing you, knowing me, this isn't the first time you've been here."

The other Bruce didn't move and didn't give anything away in his expression. "You're right. I have been here once before but that would only remove these two." He pointed to two of the entries logged by the program. "All the others are still a mystery. Only something like a large weapon, or another transport technology like my portal could produce anomalies like this."

They both stared at the data, a hypothesis forming in both their minds simultaneously. "A teleporter could cause this," said Batman, blue eyes rapidly taking in the information and adding to his theory.

"Vril Dox knew a lot about Flash. It would have taken a lot of reconnaissance." When he was alive, the Flash of his dimension was often flippant but he was always careful about his identity. Knowing that this Flash wasn't much different from his, Bruce knew that it would have taken a great deal of effort to determine his idenity.

"Dr. V," mumbled Batman. He scrolled through the entries looking for a specific date.

"What is it?" Bruce stood over the other man's shoulder.

"Not long ago, Wally was turned into a kid by a strange weapon. The man who had it said that he'd received it from a 'Dr. V.'"

"Well, that's quite the coincidence."

Seated in his chair Batman looked up at his double and raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe in coincidence."

_**JLU **_

He was barely aware. The world swam in and out of focus every few seconds and he would have thrown up if he'd had anything in his stomach. What felt like minutes passed and nothing happened.

A gentle touch had him jerking back in surprise. He'd been expecting pain but only the sudden motion and the rubbing of already raw wrists caused any new agony.

"You're dehydrated."

And whose fault is that, you bastard? Wally could not even voice his retort. He didn't sip from the cup held to his lips. Maybe it was the blood in his eyes but the water didn't look the right colour.

Vril put the cup down on a table and turned back to the Flash. The man was quivering in the bindings. Dox had turned down the temperature in the room knowing that it would weaken the Flash more quickly.

Yall had done a very thorough job and had only left a few minutes ago at his order. Now it was just him and Wally.

"Will you cooperate?" he asked. There was no response. "You can stop this whenever you want. I just want to know a few things."

His head bowed Wally listened but didn't respond. He knew that telling him anything would be a mistake.

"How old are you?"

Such an innocuous question, he was tempted to answer it especially when Vril picked up a small baton the tip of it glowing orange.

"Twenty? Twenty-one? All you have to do is nod." Dox approached and held the glowing tip close to Wally's abdomen. The heat emanating from it was just slightly painful and it had him pulling away. "It's a simple question. How old are you?"

It would start with easy questions with answers that didn't matter but as soon as he said one thing, it would lead to another, and another, and the questions would become more direct, more important and Wally wouldn't be able to stop from answering.

So, he stayed silent.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get a response, Dox's free hand reached out and squeezed on a wound on Wally's arm. The man moaned and writhed in his grip, slippery red liquid seeping out.

"I need a response."

"Screw off!"

Vril tilted his head. "Not what I was looking for." He squeezed one last time and let go. Wally breathed raggedly trying to focus on something else other than the sting and burn in his bicep.

Vril pressed a button and Wally watched through narrowed eyes as the orange tip of the baton grew brighter. Facing a blank wall, Vril made a quick arching motion with the device. It created an identical glowing bow in the air that raced forward and left a mark in the wall and such a sharp sound in his ear it nearly stung.

"Impressive isn't it?" He turned to face Wally and smiled at him. As he walked around the immobile hero he told him, "You've made me do this to you." Standing behind his prisoner Dox raised the device and brought it quickly down, making the first mark across his back. More would quickly follow.

_**JLU **_

Inaction, a superheroes arch enemy (at least mentally). They'd all become guardians because they had abilities that could keep people safe and bring justice. Sitting on their hands doing nothing was against the unwritten, but widely known, superhero code. If they wanted to do nothing they would not have donned costumes and taken to the streets. This forced inaction was new to them and there was nothing that could, as of yet, be done. With limited information they could do nothing. The helplessness was unfamiliar but already hated. Nothing was going right and everyone's mood suffered because of it. After some failed unilateral attempts at finding West or the Flash the other heroes realized they had to be patient, wait for something to change, or find some new evidence.

The television kept them updated on the general mood of the public. News and media personnel had swarmed on Keytone and Central City, interviewing Wally's friends, his boss, acquaintances and residents of the city. Clark should have been down there now with the rest of the reporters but he'd faked illness and Lois had gone without him.

They left no stone unturned. Everything even Wally's sealed juvenile record was somehow opened and aired to the public. They tried to get interviews with Wally West's only known relatives, the Allen family, but they were not talking to the media.

Green Lantern had taken a group of league members a begun his own mission. They were stationed in the cities of Central and Keystone, keeping the peace and protecting the Allen family from any would be villains looking to get back at the Flash by hurting his family.

Batman was still hiding in his cave doing what he could from there leaving Diana, Clark, Shayera, and J'onn to wander around the Watch tower trying to pry information for the useless data that had been collected already. It was a frustrating process. The only solid clue they had was the broadcast. They'd examined every frame of the footage hoping to find a clue as to the location but had come up empty handed. Their efforts had lead them back to television, searching the numerous broadcasts for any clue or even another message from Vril. Most of the stations had begun looking into the source of the transmission –for both news and security reasons- and when even a passing comment was made, somebody in the league was following up. They spared not effort and had droves of heroes offering their help.

Currently J'onn was the only one of them not in the briefing room watching the TV monitors. He'd gone back to his quiet quarters needing some alone time but also taking the chance to look through the language database. They'd rigged their own system to, again, back-track the signal and find its source but given the luck they'd had the first time they weren't betting on any good results. Steel assured them that the second attempt would get them more information but he didn't even suggest the possibility that they'd be lucky enough to find the source. Whoever had planned this knew their technology better than they did and had something that trumped all their measures.

Shayera stood glaring at the screen trying not to take offence on Wally's behalf over what was being said about him. It was all slander. She didn't care what his juvie record said. She knew Wally.

"Let it go Shayera," Clark warned, seeing the mounting anger in her eyes.

She just shook her head and turned away.

The impromptu meeting of Shayera, Diana and Clark had started with the plan that J'onn could change into Flash and appear in Central or Keystone to alleviate the suspicion that Wally was the Flash. It seemed like a good idea but it was a lie, and not just a little itty-bitty one. This would be a world-wide, everyone-knows-and-thinks-is-the-truth kind of lie. And if past, personal experience taught anybody anything, it was that one lie would lead to another and another and they'd have themselves a card castle of untruth. If one card would were to be knocked over it would come tumbling down. The League may never recover from the backlash.

Even so they agreed that to protect Wally and his family it had to be done. It was getting late now but tomorrow, they all approved, the Flash would make an appearance.

From the floor a pale green apparition seeped up and became solid –J'onn, the man of the hour. He addressed them without preamble. Something had disturbed him, evident by the low, halting speech. "The language, the one I saw on orbs that attacked Flash…" He looked down at the paper in his hands and then weakly held it out to them.

Superman rushed over and took the paper, J'onn expression having put him on edge rapidly. He read and reread but still couldn't believe.

J'onn went on while Clark's mind continued to trip over the latest revelation. "I knew I'd seen something like it before. On your craft, the one that brought you here." J'onn was looking at Superman. Over Christmas J'onn had stayed with the Kent's and Clark had shown him the small pod that had delivered him to Earth.

"What is it?" Diana asked walking over, Shayera not far behind.

"It's…" he stuttered, "it….it's Kryptonian."

**End Chapter 5 – Before the Public**

Sagga…


	6. Lex Talionis

Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Summary: While Wally tries to get his life back on track new and old enemies make a move on the league, abducting an important member.

Disclaimer: The DC characters are not mine. I'm just playing with them. They'll be returned…eventually, not in good condition but that can hardly be blamed on me!

Author's Note: This chapter gets pretty heavy near the end.

Warning(s): Violence. Allusion to rape. 

**Chapter 6 – Lex Talionis**

The cameraman ran behind the reporter, making a valiant effort to keep up despite the heavy camera on his shoulder. They'd been staked out in front of the university for an hour hoping to get an exclusive. There was a particular group of students that they were targeting, so when five o'clock rolled around and students began leaving the buildings of Central University they made a dash for them.

The startled students didn't even have time to gather themselves or fix their clothes and hair mussed from a long day of classes. Questions came fast and furious and the bright light of the camera in their faces didn't help.

"What? What is this?" a young woman asked shielding her eyes from the light.

"You know Wallace West, is that correct?" the reporter asked in a rush.

Another flustered student in the group answered. "Uh, yeah…what-"

"Do you believe he could be the Flash? Did he tell you anything?"

"Get the camera out of my face!" Fran, the first woman, spat and swiped at the offending object. "Wally is my friend and I'm not going to blab to the likes of you just so you can improve your ratings!" she turned and grabbed the arm of the other woman in the group who looked rather upset about the ambush and walked away. A few more of Wally's friends left but some stayed behind.

"He's always late."

"What?" Fran turned to Trevor Cunningham, one of the guys walking with them in the now thinned group.

"He's almost always late. If he were that fast you'd think he'd always manage to make it on time."

"Maybe he's just busy," the other woman contemplated aloud.

"Maybe it doesn't matter," Fran said scornfully. "All we know for sure is that Wally is at the mercy of a weirdo. Who knows what's happening to him right now?"

Silence spread through the group as they contemplated the dire situation their friend was facing. Trevor glanced back at the reporter who was interviewing some other students. No doubt they were airing everything they knew about West. He could scarcely believe that they'd do this, divulge his whole life to the public. When Wally came back, and he would come back, his life was going to be forever changed, Flash or not.

**_+JLU+ _**

'I mean, he was never the smartest guy in the class but, considering how many lectures he missed, I'm surprised he's passing at all.'

-click-

'-safe to say that he's no angel. A trusted WNN source has uncovered that Wallace West has a juvenile record with charges ranging from vandalism to breaking and entering. There are also mentions of ties to drug gangs and other illegal activities in-'

-click-

'This footage, taken only tens of minutes after the worldwide broadcast of the unmasking of the Flash, shows person after person breaking into the apartment of Wallace West. There has still been no direct evidence uncovered that this man is the Flash. There was a report from Central City that the Flash was seen earlier today but no footage of the appearance is available. The Justice League has repeatedly refused our invitations for an interview and the Allen family has remained quiet on the matter only saying that they want Wally returned home safely.'

'It's also interesting to note that West is not biologically related to the Allen's. His father Rudolph West, who abandoned the five year old Wallace, was adopted by Ira and Nadine West. The couple also adopted Iris West so it's only a relation through adoption.'

"Do we have to keep listening to this?" Dove asked. The media was all over the story and had been since the unmasking. Now even talk shows and late night comics where adding their own bit. Don didn't find the jokes at West's and the Flash's expense at all humorous and was tired of these people attacking this man.

The main command centre had a dozen or so other heroes in it and they all felt the same as Dove but continued to watch anyway. It was important that they remember this. This is what it would be like. Many had wondered if the whole secret identity thing was necessary. It had become somewhat of a superhero industry standard that identities where kept secret for the most part. It was obvious now why that was.

While the League members could say with a fair amount of certainty that Wally West was the Flash, the public couldn't. The League had known the Flash was missing before Dox appeared with him on TV. That the Flash should vanish just before Wally West dressed in a Flash costume is revealed was just too coincidental.

"I've had enough of this!" Dove streaked out of the room in a blur of blue and white to destinations unknown. A second later Hawk followed his soft hearted brother through the sliding glass doors.

"He's right. This has gone too far. You'd think they'd appreciate that one of their citizens has taken on the added responsibility of keeping them safe," Shayera said softly at the back of the room where she, J'onn, Superman and Diana stood. J'onn had just returned from his excursion to Central City an hour ago and it had already made it to the news. He hadn't been entirely supportive of the plan, the deception, but he did it for Flash, but made it discreet. He'd expected the media to jump on the Flash appearance and use it to reduce the mania. Instead, they ignored it as a fluke or a misapprehension. They held onto the belief that West was the Flash and continued to demean him.

"'It's against our nature.'" They all turned to Diana. "It's what Luthor said to me. 'Survival is selfish and survival comes first.'" After the explosion at LexCorp, when she and Superman had gone to see what an incarcerated Lex Luthor knew about the attack, he'd mumbled and rambled about many things. She'd dismissed his mutterings as the nonsensical utterances of a man at the door of insanity, but apparently they did have some root in reality.

They were afraid. Uneven distribution of power could do that and the Justice League had quite a bit concentrated into a few dozen beings. Making the Flash human, making him fallible and imperfect brought him and the rest of them down to the same level. It didn't excuse their behaviour but it did explain a lot of it.

Shayera didn't take here eyes off a news talk show playing on one of the monitors when she responded. "If you believe that then you're as bad as he is!"

Diana, calm even in the face of crisis, faced her and gestured to the images playing out before them. "You can't argue with that."

Multiple screens each showed the same thing. People judging an individual they knew very little about, other than what was written in his out-dated records. Interviews of friends turned enemies ran over and over, footage of people breaking in, stealing and fleeing with few people trying to stop it. And of course every nut with a theory about the Justice League and meta-humans got their fifteen minutes of fame.

'They aren't better than us! They have more power but that doesn't make it ok. Who gave them the right or the responsibility? All dictators have a misguided sense of duty!' The anchors would just nod in agreement, a look of concerned contemplation on their faces (must have been taught to them at journalism school, Faking Sincerity 101). 'No alien can teach us about HUMANity!'

No, but you could all stand to be taught a lesson in it, thought J'onn.

He walked out of the room silently. He needed some space, some time away; never so frustrated and disappointed with humans as he was at that very moment.

**_+JLU+ _**

"What have you got?" Clark asked as he walked in. Behind him Shayera and Diana followed.

"I've been tracking some strange disturbances for the past little while and there is a vague pattern emerging," said Batman. He'd called them all a few minutes after he arrived at the Watch Tower to tell them of his findings. Green Lantern was still in Central City so he wouldn't be attending but J'onn's absence was curious. "I still can't place what the source of the anomalies are exactly, but it stands to reason that it could be some kind of teleportation device."

"That was the day when Flash was turned into a child," Clark remarked and soon they all began to see a pattern.

"This was the day of the bombing at the new Watch Tower." Diana pointed to one entry and then to another. "And this was that day we got him back." Other dates corresponded to other recent events. Some disturbances fell between the significant dates but none of them believed the pattern they'd found was just an accident.

"If we're right then this was all done by the same person, or group of people," intoned Batman.

"But why? To bring down the League?" Shayera glanced around at the others but they held their comments. "There has to be something else –some other reason. This doesn't feel right." She'd dealt with enough criminals to have at least some understanding of their motives but this one didn't fall into the pattern she had constructed.

"What makes you so sure?" Wonder Woman inquired.

"She's right," Bruce agreed. "Most of the attacks have been against the Flash. It's too personal. Flash must have done something at some point, gotten on Dox's bad side."

"I don't care about his motives. I just want to get him back before it's too late." Everyone agreed silently with Superman but they could only deny for so long that this was all special and focussed. It would have required a lot of reconnaissance work and patience on Vril's part. He knew too much about the Flash, even figured out his identity. To Bruce it was sounding more and more like Flash had a stalker. And stalking like this belied a dangerous level of obsession. But what had triggered it?

**_+JLU+ _**

While his friends and colleagues discussed the how and why of this whole incident, Flash had just lived through another painful result of it. He was barely conscious. The cuffs mounted to the ceiling by a short chain were the only things keeping him upright.

His senses were hazy at best; vision nothing but dark blurs of grey, hearing no longer acute enough to distinguish between his own laboured breaths and the scuff of his torturers boots on the floor. In his mouth all he tasted was the metallic tang of blood and it was all he could smell as well. He'd lost feeling in his hands as the pressure of his own body weight against the cuffs cut off the circulation, but everywhere else was on fire.

West flinched when a cool hand was pressed against his back. He'd been treated to a whole agonizing spectrum of new sensations and he was unsure whether there was more to come. He didn't think he would survive if there was. He was just aware enough to establish that his mind was beginning to go. That was all the explanation he could conjure for the strange sensory illusions he had experienced.

When the blows had landed his whole world shifted. The pain wasn't limited to his abused back or wherever the blow struck, instead it coiled around and through him, filling his senses and then dissipating into the background ache he was slowly becoming used to. He could now swear that pure pain was white, sounded like complete silence and tasted like blood.

"Easy now," a voice cautioned and suddenly the chain supporting his weight vanished and he collapsed into waiting arms. "Drink this." Something was pressed against his chapped lips and tilted until he felt cool liquid. "It's okay." He knew that there was a reason he shouldn't drink but his throat was so dry and his mouth was pasty from thirst.

Vril watched with a growing smile as the human man drank the water laced with his special chemical. He pulled the cup away when the water was done and placed it on the floor next to them. Vril pressed a button on a palm-sized device in his pocket and the dark room around them faded away to be replaced with a more inviting but sparse set of living quarters.

Mindful on the injuries, many of which he'd caused, Dox picked West up and placed him on the bed. He watched the pale face clench with pain and then relax minutely as the soft linens eased away some of the discomfort.

"Wally," he whispered his voice changed to a voice that the speedster was familiar with and trusted. "Wally, it's okay. We've got you. You're safe."

The chemical he'd ingested with the water was already doing its job. When bleary blue-green eyes opened they didn't see a man he hated and feared. Confusion tumbled through his sluggish mind. He didn't understand how.

"It's okay. You don't have to worry."

A gentle hand ran through his hair and Wally frowned in confusion. The red cape, the blue spandex with the red and yellow crest in the middle –it could only be one person.

"S-Su…Supes?"

Vril smiled. Using his limited but, with the help of the chemical, enhanced mental abilities he forged the vision of the Flash's trusted friend, using details that Wally's own mind envisioned to make his facsimile even more accurate.

He'd used his abilities before on those adolescents in Cleveland and then on the Justice League members themselves, first on one at the Justice League headquarters and then on the heroes that had been dispatched to the scene in Cleveland. It had required the use of two of his precious few Signoid crystals but it had been worth it. He'd learnt so much about the Flash and Supergirl in that short encounter, pushed them to their limits, set them against each other. It had been a most compelling drama.

He walked over to a low table in the centre of the room. There was a tray laden with some food. It was time for his captive to have a small meal. Vril knew that denying someone with a hyper-metabolism the nourishment their body required was an easy way of weakening them. However, he wanted Wally weak, not dead. He picked up a container with pale burgundy morsels inside. He and his crew detested this particular food because of the strange, sour flavour. It was a meal replacement food, laden heavily with nutrients and calories. Nicknamed gelich, after a particularly strange gastronomy on their homeworld, they ate it in emergencies when their food supplies were low. Now it would be good for the speedster. He might even like it. During his travels to earth Vril had discovered a particular food that humans seemed to enjoy immensely but he could only taste gelich.

Vril returned to the bed and sat. "Here. Eat." He held a small piece of the food to Wally's lips with gentle pressure.

Staring up at the image of his friend, Wally complied and ate the food. He didn't understand why Superman was feeding him or why he was still bound but he was painfully hungry. Cheese was better than nothing.

Vril continued to feed him talking softly about nothing of particular importance to either of them. As he spoke he allowed Superman's voice to transform smoothly into his and then back. He allowed the illusion he presented to change as well, from Superman to Vril and back. He never let it go to far. Vril just wanted his image to invoke the same trusting response in his captive that Superman's did. The water he had given Wally had been laced with Nam, his special chemical concoction, which made a person very suggestible. It required subtly though. Especially when trying to transform the mental impression that Wally had of Vril to the complete opposite one he had for Superman.

Dox had decided to go this route when he found his original plan was not yielding the results he'd envisioned. This creature he was feeding was physically weaker than he'd expected but mentally stronger, so he'd devised this plan. The Nam, originally, was only supposed to be used to keep Wally under his control once he'd broken him. Using it now, as such a direct tool to break him was a gamble, one which would soon backfire.

He was pulled from his reverie by a dispatch from the command level. Yall's even voice informed him that Luthor was demanding to speak with him. Yall's voice was only heard by Dox through a small device in his ear but when he responded he spoke aloud.

Vril turned a little away from Wally and asked, "What has he done now?" He paused and listened to Yall explain what little she knew. Apparently, Luthor had been listening to that voice in his head again and it was telling him things that put Luthor on edge. "That fool! He's barely worth the trouble. I'm on my way." In his ire Vril did not notice his voice reverting completely back to its usual tone. Wally did. The image above him of Superman began to unravel, slices of the recognized face morphing into another, revealing the true man underneath. Somehow Wally wasn't surprised, at least not as much as he should have been. With the truth now known to him when Vril faced him and spoke using Superman's voice the image of Superman didn't return. Instead what he felt a torrent of information flooding into him.

Dr. Vril Dox thought he'd perfected the art and science of his acquired psychic abilities but he'd never had an opponent of this species and never one whose mind worked so quickly. So, unbeknownst to him, the connection to his victim's mind –a connection now enhanced by Nam –was a two-way street. Now that Flash could deny the illusion being fed to him instinctively, he was free to pull new information to determine motive from anywhere possible. In normal conversation that was through body language, tone of voice, facial expressions and previous dealings with the other individual. In this instance it was through their strange mental connection.

The connection closed and the waves of information suddenly stopped, leaving Wally reeling. Mistaking Wally's jumbled mind for acquiescence to his lie and the effect of the chemical, Vril left to attend to Luthor.

The moment the doors slid shut behind him Wally sat up. The new information had settled into a disorderly pile in his mind and he was mentally screaming at himself to move, find an escape, anything. He knew where he was now, knew that there was very little chance that his friends would be able to find him so he would have to help.

Adrenaline temporarily allowed him to ignore the aches and protests his body made against the sudden activity. Only his hands were still bound by the cuffs but otherwise he was free. Careful movements had him off the bed and limping to the door. A quick check found that the entrance wasn't locked or alarmed.

With a one last, steadying breath he stepped out into the bleak grey corridor. Invisible currents of cool air suddenly assaulted his exposed skin. His red Flash suit had seen better days. Large pieces were ripped away, especially at his back. He shivered a little but the coolness soothed the red welts and gashes criss-crossing his body.

Wally glanced around. There was nobody in the hallway and he didn't hear anything either but he wasn't sure how much he could trust his senses. He headed in the direction of what he thought and hoped was their shuttle hangar. The information he'd gotten from Vril was scrambled and incomplete so he couldn't be certain of anything.

When he arrived at a set of doors marked with some kind of warning he couldn't read, he thought he'd been successful. When the doors opened he knew that wasn't entirely true. It wasn't a fleet of spacecrafts that he found. The large cylinders whirring with concealed power, conduits leading to and from complex devices Wally's muddled mind could scarcely describe let alone determine their specific function –it looked like a generator room. He stepped in and looked around. He considered leaving and trying another direction to find the shuttles but he had no clue where to go.

"This place is a maze," he said to himself knowing that his escape attempt would be a failure. "Well I can at least make it a spectacular failure. I'm good at that."

Self-depreciating humour set aside, the Flash took off slamming fists and kicks into anything that looked important. Sparks and gases began filling the room as the system alarms blared in warning. It took him less than thirty seconds to reduce the once sleek and immaculate generators to piles of scrap metal.

Noxious gases started to make him cough and West staggered for the exit to make his escape. The door he'd entered through barely a minute earlier slid aside and Wally stumbled into the corridor wall. He slid to the floor coughing and trying to regain his equilibrium. It was the gases in combination with his general poor condition making him dizzy and confused, but when he heard and felt the rumbling of the severely damaged generators through the floor he knew he had to get away from there.

The red-head scrambled to his feet and sped off in an unknown direction. His only thought was to put distance between himself and the site of his demolition job. A few seconds later and a series of violent vibrations rocked the complex. Wally was knocked off his feet and crashed heavily to the ground. Violent air currents began to whip through the corridors, pulling any object not secured towards the location of the explosion. Wally began to feel the pull as well and without anything to grasp onto he slid along the floor, back towards the destruction he'd caused. He flailed about, trying to grab onto anything but the barren corridors and his bound hands gave him nothing to work with.

The wind became more violent and he was lifted from the floor. This is it, he thought grimly as he felt himself flying through the air. Out of the blue a wall halted his flight, slamming his head against the hard surface. He dropped to the cold floor, the powerful current of air gone.

He breathed heavily for many moments. A series of short but loud thuds reverberated around him, each coming from different distances away. He managed to look back at the grey wall that had saved him. His last though before darkness claimed him was that it hadn't been there before.

**_+JLU+ _**

Supergirl rounded a corner in the Watch Tower at the same moment her cousin stepped out of the main command centre. He looked weary. Everybody was looking drained –many of them giving up their breaks to cover extra missions so that more people were free to find their missing member. However, none of them carried the burden as much as Superman. Not only was his position as a leader of the organization putting pressure on him but she'd seen how much responsibility he put on himself in general. Even in situations where no reasonable being would be able to find fault with him, he found fault with himself.

Following him out of the room but heading in different directions were Shayera and J'onn, both looking as tired as her cousin and their heavy movements made them look old.

Superman paused in the corridor and ran a tired hand over his face. He felt a heavy hand settle on his shoulder and squeeze gently. The green hand could only belong to one person. Clark looked at the fellow alien and gave a vague smile to the hopeful one on J'onn's face. "We'll find him." Clark nodded weakly and followed J'onn gaze when his head shifted to Kara.

"Hey. I've got the report from Doctor Warner and Miss Brook," Supergirl announced. She'd been hounding them ever since the incident in Cleveland where she'd attacked the Flash. She needed to know what had caused it and Warner, one of their top Doctors, and Brook, their top scientist, had only just finished analysing the crystal shards that had been removed from Flash's hand.

"What did they say?" the Martian asked.

"You were right, J'onn. It amplifies brain activity. For a regular person it just makes them emotionally hypersensitive and maybe a little neurotic. For someone with mental abilities it increases their range and provides a bridge between minds."

"It must have been Vril," Clark said tiredly. This man had been toying with them just to see what would happen. Now he knew how lab rats felt. If it was Dox then it meant he had mental powers that he could use against the Flash, another way to hurt him.

"There's also something else," Kara resumed. "Nano-scale technology was found wired around the crystal and into its centre. It's psionic, the same type used on Argo and Krypton."

"You're familiar with it then?" J'onn asked.

"Yes. Most of the technology on Argo had psionic components so that it would respond to our minds. What was found on the crystal was similar but more advanced." Her home-world had been centuries ahead of Earth in regards to technology and she often surprised people with her knowledge of the technology.

"So, Dox is from the same star system. Perhaps another survivor?" It would also explain the Kryptonian-like markings on the orbs that had attacked Flash.

"None of our people were ever gifted with psychic abilities."

Clark let Kara answer the questions he had no real memories of life on Krypton. It was at moments like this that he envied Kara the most, because although she lost her world, she had memories of it. All he had were implanted images and his imagination.

"Dox said he was from Colu. I might be mistaken, since it's been a while since my galactic geography lessons, but I think Colu was a planet in a nearby system."

"Maybe his planet was also disturbed by the destruction of Krypton." Clark commented.

"That's possible. Warner thinks that the psionic frequency was set to the species of the user and it's very close to the frequency of you and I," Kara said to her cousin.

"Which means that physiologically speaking people of Krypton, Argo and Colu are similar; perhaps sharing a common ancestor. That would explain why the influence of the crystal was more pronounced with you than with Flash."

"Well, Flash and I weren't the only ones under the influence of this thing. Brook found that a pulse from the crystal creates and answering resonance in anybody recently affected by it. When they tested it out yesterday they found to responses in the vicinity–me and Mr. Terrific."

**_+JLU+ _**

"...if it hadn't been for the emergency doors."

"Yes. Yes. Your caution saved us all. I'll give you a damned promotion later," a deep and angry voice growled.

Wally drifted back to wakefulness, the light seeping through his eyelids suddenly being perceived by his brain.

"He did all this?" He felt something hard nudge his side.

"Looks like. We have only back up power; teleporting, shielding, masking capabilities, all offline. We barely have enough for communications and environmental controls, and the damaged areas are still haemorrhaging chemicals." Yall reported. There was about three seconds of silence before she spoke again, her calm tone evolving to just this side of mocking. "I thought you had him under control."

Retaliation for the comment came as a brutal kick to Wally's side. He gasped in pain and his eyes flew open. Yall hid her flinch.

"Fix this," Vril commanded. He grasped Wally around a bicep and dragged him up with one hand. He was too weak and dizzy to get his legs to support him but Vril had no trouble holding him up and dragging him along as he left Yall and his other officers to fix the mess. The explosion of the main generators had damaged a large portion of the structure. There was now another crater on the landscape, this one in their building and cause by their prisoner.

Wally drifted in and out of awareness over the seemingly endless trek back to the room Vril had left him in prior to his excursion. Mostly he knew only discomfort as he came down off his adrenaline high. His temporarily forgotten injuries made themselves known with a vengeance.

Barely aware of their arrival back to the room Wally found himself thrown against a wall and then pinned there with a forearm pressed against his throat.

"You've made quite the mess," Vrill hissed, his face only two inches from his captive.

Struggling to breathe West could only manage a monosyllabic retort. "Oops."

Vril's angry frown shifted into a wry smile and the arm pressed against Flash's neck eased. Eventually the arm was removed completely and in its stead a gentle hand traced his jaw. His other hand slid up to grasp Wally's side where he'd just kicked him a few minutes ago.

The change in Vril's demeanour had Wally's mind struggling to keep up. He'd expected anger. He could deal with anger. This twisted amusement left him addled.

Vril leaned forward catching the vibrant eyes partially hidden behind a curtain of red hair. "Has anyone ever told you," the hand at Wally's side pulled away, curled into a fist and then punched his bruised and battered flank, "that you suffer beautifully."

They were so close now that Wally could see, even through his watery vision, the pupils of the dark eyes dilate. The hand that had just punched him now caressed his side and slipped around to his back.

He began to panic, fear of something he hadn't quite named ceasing him. Dox had no trouble restraining the struggling young man, just pressed his body weight into him. He could sense the fear rolling off Wally in waves. He shifted forward until his nose brushed against the sweat dampened neck. From the corner of his eye he watched the expressions sweep across the ashen and anguished face.

Wally's struggles increased but the overall malnourishment and his most recent bout of super-speed had him weakened to the point of near total helplessness.

Vril's breath blew across his damp neck and he cringed just as something wet touched him in the same place. Blue-green eyes darted around the room looking for something, anything that would tell him this was just a nightmare.

He struggled in earnest now and Vril smiled to himself. He pressed West harder against the wall, moulding his body to fit his prey, his excitement mounting the more West panicked and resisted. Dox ground his hips into Wally.

His mind screamed at him. This was not happening! Don't let this happen! Wally mounted a last ditch effort to stop it. His hands still bound he managed to push Vril away just a few inches but a hard blow to his head left him disoriented for several seconds.

He was face down on the bed when he had enough awareness to begin struggling again. A cold sharp blade was felt scraping against his skin, freeing him of what was left of the confining red spandex, and every once in while drawing blood as it pressed just a little too much against him. Vril held him down with a large hand at the back of his neck and the rest of his body pressed against his victim, killing any leverage Wally might have been able to find.

He began cursing, yelling at him every insult he'd ever heard.

Vril smirked, unfazed. He discarded the blade and stroked the smooth skin that he'd dreamt of but denied himself the pleasure of touching until now.

"Oh, God, no…" The plea was cut off by a pained moan. It would be the last sound Wally made until it was over.

**End Chapter 6 – The Law of Revenge**

:( I actually felt kind of sick after writing that last part. Anyway, things will get "better" in the next chapter so don't let that last part turn you off the story.

Sagga…


	7. Causam Justia et Mesericordia

Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Summary: While Wally tries to get his life back on track new and old enemies make a move on the league, abducting an important member.

Disclaimer: The DC characters are not mine. I'm just playing with them. They'll be returned…eventually, not in good condition but that can hardly be blamed on me!

Author's Note: Sorry about the late update. Been a little under the weather lately, but here it is. Enjoy!

**Chapter 7 – Causam Justia et Mesericordia**

General Wade Eiling sat tensely across from his colleague, Amanda Waller. Next to him was Admiral Jared Ross, a pretty-boy, former marine or SEAL or something, grown up and now thinking he knew what was best for the country. Eiling absently ran a hand over his bald head and glared at the head of thick silver hair on Ross's ungrateful skull.

"They need someone on their side. Somebody they can see making a difference," Ross said but Waller wasn't sold.

"Cut the crap. We're not your usual audience. You keep waxing idiotic and I'll have you thrown out."

"I don't think our boss would like that. Besides you do need my help." He stood up and began to walk leisurely around the four assembled officials. "Not only do you have the Justice League to worry about, now you've got Luthor, who you've never been able to control, and Doctor Vril Dox of Colu." He stopped walking and stood behind Waller's new right hand man, Adam Hughes. A former detective with the NYPD his skills had brought him to Waller's attention. "Who knows how much of a threat Dox and his other Colu-people pose?"

"So far they've only targeted the Justice League. Maybe we should make them our ally," Eiling suggested, only half joking.

"Not a chance. The Justice League isn't our enemy. Not unless they turn against our people. Dox, on the other hand, has taken one of our citizens." Amanda was adamant about the distinction.

Hughes spoke up here. "Wallace West, we're pretty sure he is the Flash but that's not something we're willing to tell the world. For the time being it's probably best that we treat him like any other of our citizens. He's been captured by an unfriendly group-"

"We don't negotiate with terrorist," General Eiling interrupted.

"I know that. But we do mount rescue attempts-"

"He's right, and my guys-" Ross had interrupted Hughes, only to be interrupted by Eiling.

"OUR guys."

Ross nodded in acquiescence. "Right. Our guys are built for this sort of thing. You can't send the police because frankly those wannabes don't have a clue. And regular military forces just aren't ready for this type of challenge."

"Your team isn't ready either. They can't match a super-powered threat. If they could we wouldn't need the Justice League at all."

"What we need is a middle ground," suggested Hughes. "Like Captain Atom. He gave himself superpowers. I'm not suggesting that we try anything that dangerous but if we could get a meta-human to join your," he stressed "your" while glancing between the Admiral and General, "team, and if they did it publicly you'd have a lot more support and you'd be better equipped."

The other three were silent for a few moments considering the options. Waller and Eiling knew that Hughes and Ross were not yet aware of all of the projects listed under CADMUS, including the Ultramen and Galatea but they could all see his point. The Ultramen, though their tour of duty was brief, managed to garner quite the fan following.

Waller was the first to ask the million dollar question. "Who did you have in mind?"

"Who else but Wallace West." The Flash was one of the original members so his support would be a boost tp their operation and with his fantastic speed he'd be a tactical advantage as well.

"The press is all over him," was Ross's quick protest.

"So what? If he joined your team he'd be in the public eye again. Maybe it's better that all this secret identity stuff happens now when we don't have to deal with it. Not only that but, assuming that he gets away from Dox with his life, if we time it right we could talk him into working for us."

It wasn't fair manipulating someone like that, especially after the type of trauma they knew he was suffering, but they all knew it but it might be necessary.

"Nothing's written in stone. It's just a suggestion," Hughes finished.

"Well at least he can't fly but keeping him under control would be a problem," pondered Eiling.

"Maybe we should get back to the issue at hand. We need to get him back before we get him on our side," said Waller.

"I've had some of our engineers on it but they've got squat," Hughes announced.

"If they find anything out of the normal let me know and inform the Justice League too," Waller ordered.

"Why?"

"He's their friend and we don't have the resources to go after him. Let them do it."

**_+JLU+ _**

When his mind came back to the present Wally found that he was face down on the bed hands still bound. In his mouth was the nauseating tang of blood. His tongue flicked out to wet dry lips but retreated at the stinging sensation. His bottom lip was cut, and pretty badly too.

He remembered biting his lip to keep from crying out but he hadn't realized how much force he'd put into it. That also explained the metallic taste in his mouth. Across his body the aches and pains were only just beginning to filter back to the forefront of his mind but he wouldn't think about them –he couldn't make it real.

He'd gone numb not long after the assault began, something he hadn't done for years, he hadn't needed to.

"Awake I see."

The voice startled him but he didn't respond in anyway.

A warm hand rested on his shoulder and Batman's voice continued, saying to him: "You can't beat him and we can't save you."

Wally gingerly turned his head towards the Dark Knight.

"Even you can understand that, right? Just let go." Batman's gloved hand reached up to touch his face. "Can you do that for me?"

After a paused Wally's head jerked in a shaky nod.

Batman smiled his usual half smile and the hand against Wally's face pressed harder.

"Now I want you to do something else." Batman leaned forward and whispered close to his ear, "Cry for me."

With astonishing speed and power Wally struck him across his face sending the larger man tumbling to the floor. The attack had both of them seeing stars but for Wally it was from the symphony of painful objections issued by his injuries and the lack of food.

He lay gasping on the bed trying to catch his breath as the lights on the ceiling developed a blurry halo.

"You hit me!" Vril dropped the image of Batman and glared at his prisoner.

West couldn't even think up a smart remark. Fatigue weighted his body with lead and even when Vril threw him against the wall next to the bed and attached his cuffed wrists to a lock on the wall he did nothing.

Vril stared down at the red-head. It was always at the strangest moments that he pondered the existence of these creatures. His envy of their primitive a simple life had led to this, he'd decided to partake in their experience. The Flash had been his first and only choice to share it with.

He ran a hand through the red strands and watched the young man curl in on himself. Vril didn't bother to fight back his smile. The primitive power of direct control over another surged through him like a drug and he began to see why too many of this lesser species victimised their brethren. This barbarism, these unthinkable violations, it was perfect. And so was his specimen, his target, his infatuation, perfectly shattered.

He felt his enthralment intensify. He'd seen so much in the past several years but nothing had touched him like the frailty of this, his precious pet.

He forced his subjects head up, watching and, through his psychic abilities, feeling the by-play of tangled emotions. Ensconced in his superiority, he was impervious to the hate directed at him.

From Vril, Wally felt the twisted obsession, the single-mindedness, and the super-inflated sense of superiority that protected him from any empathy.

"You've got quite the fuckin' ego." It took all his effort to keep his voice steady.

Vril smiled down at his specimen then he slapped him, hard.

**_+JLU+ _**

It was nearly four in the morning in the great city of Metropolis. A slow night for crime freed the big six for the time being but they were still at the Watch Tower and none of them showed signs of leaving. John had returned from Central city leaving another hero in charge of watch over Flash's domain. They were spread here and there throughout the complex following up on Batman's theory about the teleporter anomalies he'd been tracking. Diana was catching a few minutes of sleep in her new room. Shayera had practically kicked the drowsy Amazon out of the auxiliary control room where she and Batman had been working. The rare glimpse of the strong friendship and understanding between the two women, despite their often blatant hostility to each other, underscored the gravity of the situation and the significance of the Flash's place in the group.

He'd been missing for almost a week now and though the media blitz had not taken a break, public opinion had shifted somewhat. People were now more concerned with getting Wally West back safely. Debate over the Flash's identity still raged but it had taken a back seat, for now.

People really seemed to care, even began to understand why these heroes hid their faces. In light of their own bad reaction to the unmasking it was hard for many people, at least the ones that could be honest, not to look back and cringe. They were only trying to help, and they really did need meta-humans.

A loud thud shattered the silence in the auxiliary control room. Batman didn't even bother to look. He'd been expecting it. Actually Shayera had held out from hitting the computer for three minutes longer than he'd expected.

"I can't find anything."

"Keep looking," was his stony reply. She gave a huff and continued.

"Come on. Weather reports? Weather anomalies? What good will this do?" She searched while she complained.

Batman agreed it was pretty obscure but when Question said there had been reports of purple clouds he had to check it out. He'd given some consideration to the conspiracy nut's idea but when he got to the part about Girl Scout armies he'd stopped listening.

"New anomalies are a good thing. It means something's changed." He turned to stare at her. "But if you have a better idea, I'm all ears." He saw her glance up at the pointed black ears of his cowl before she responded.

"Fine. But I still–"

Shayera was interrupted by the beeping of her computer. She turned to it, her complaint forgotten instantly.

"What is it?" Batman asked after she'd worked silently for a few seconds.

"It looks like…caesium hydroxide?"

"That's unusual."

"No kidding. How often do you find caesium in the atmosphere?" Shayera questioned but Batman wasn't listening. He'd begun tapping keys, calling up related data. Caesium was used commonly in atomic clocks and ion-drive engines.

"Can't trace the source." Frustration laced his voice. He was now fighting the same urge to hit the computer that Shayera had given in to just a few moments ago.

Thankfully for the computer both their earpieces activated and Superman's voice called them down to the main command centre. Batman would have protested but the tone of Clark's voice told him that it was urgent.

Before the door had even slid open all the way they were bombarding the two new comers with information.

"The cloud colour was-"

"Caesium," Batman interjected. Not that it got things moving faster but he didn't like other people knowing something he didn't. He didn't even like people thinking they knew something he didn't.

Superman nodded and continued. "We've been offered some help locating the source."

"Where's the source?"

"Help from whom?"

Shayera and Bruce posed their questions at the same time, their words merging into an easily decipherable burble. Before anyone could answer a disembodied voice spoke.

"I'm the source."

"Waller?" Shayera looked at Green Lantern and J'onn. Surely they had enough sense to know they couldn't trust her. She wouldn't put anything past Diana in her current state of sleep deprivation and Superman was just too trusting for his own good.

"What have you got?"

Shayera turned to stare at Batman. Not him too.

"The tech boys have traced the caesium using our high orbit satellites. It's being dropped into our atmosphere."

"A plane maybe?" Diana suggested.

"Aim a little higher, hon." Diana scowled at the pet-name."My guys think it's coming from the moon."

Clark shook his head. "No. We checked the moon –sent a probe to scan the whole thing. It was one of the first places we looked."

"Cloaking, portals, mind wipes –I don't know how, but it's up there and somehow you missed it." Waller was adamant.

J'onn turned one of the Tower's scopes heavenward and large picture of the moon filled the main screen. The evening was just giving way to the night and the resplendent three-quarter moon. A previously scanned map was quickly overlaid on the image and there were no changes noted by the computer. The topography was exactly the same, not even a new crater to be noted.

"Perfect match," J'onn said casually. They all stared, on the phone Waller listened silently. "But there's always the other side."

**_+JLU+ _**

"Get it working! I don't care how!"

"It's too late, they're coming!" Yall pressed a button sounding the alarm in the structure. With their limited sensors they'd been informed too late of the impending arrival of a Justice League craft. Without main power their cloaking generator was useless and their base would stick out like a sore thumb.

"What are you doing?" Vril yelled and tried to undo the alarm but to no avail.

In the background officers and other Dox underlings scrambled to escape. Red lights atop the exits flashed in urgency while blue skinned Coluans ran from the danger approaching. Within the commotion Yall stood serenely, long blonde hair framing perfect blue skin.

"It's over," she told him. "Brainiac is gone. Our mission, the mission we've put off for years, he completed it. It's over!" She watched his face contort with rage but at least he was looking at her now, not through her. "Let's go home."

"No! I'm not done."

They'd had conversations like this before –they always ended the same way –but she was determined not to give in this time. She'd given him everything. She wasn't a young girl in awe of his genius anymore. She'd done as he had asked, put her faith him forsaking the mission her people had sent them on to right a wrong. Now she was a jaded woman feeling too old, to be chasing after the unattainable.

She held out her hand to him. They were alone in the room now and though the alarms blared and the lights flashed, she heard silence, saw only him. When he turned away the sounds came back and red lights periodically glared into her eyes.

"Commander?" A young officer had come across her standing in the former bridge alone. "We have to go."

She glanced at the man but said nothing.

"Yall?"

She just shook her head.

Elsewhere Vril was dodging his former minions as he tried to get back to his quarters where the Flash was still being held. Cowards and fools, his mind labelled his fleeing comrades. He would not give up, not his personal mission and not his token from Earth.

A sudden and deafening crash threw him down to the floor. Ahead of him a bright light spilled into the corridors as a large section of bulkhead was cut swiftly away with a powerful weapon.

They were here! Dox ran back the way he'd come. He knew he couldn't face them all head-on. He needed to regroup.

When they'd rounded to the far side of Earth's only natural satellite the structure had been easy to spot. It was a landed spacecraft with extra levels built into and around it. A gaping hole leaked caesium from the engine section of the space craft leaving it now flightless, and creating a plain trail for them to follow. Eager to catch Dox and save Wally they split up into two groups. GL, Shayera and Wonder Woman would take Vril while J'onn Superman and Batman located Wally.

"This way!" GL called as he, Shayera and Wonder Woman entered the complex through the opening they'd created after linking the Javelin to an outer wall. They were going to secure the complex and find Dox while the others found Wally. Knowing what they now knew about Dox, J'onn was able to locate within the structure the strongest mental presence. With his psychic abilities that was Vril.

Superman and Batman waited tensely for J'onn to locate West. Without psychic abilities he blended in with the other Coluans and J'onn had to take the time to mentally sift through each one. Finally he was successful.

"He's this way. He's badly injured and possibly drugged." J'onn's eyes stopped glowing and he indicated a corridor. "His mind isn't clear. Dox has been manipulating him. We have to be careful."

"He won't hurt us," Superman assured, underestimating how grave West's condition was.

"He might. We've been here with him. His torturer wore our faces."

Batman was the first to run off in the direction J'onn had indicated, Superman quickly catching up and then over taking him. J'onn was about to follow when a sudden blast caught him from behind. Too far ahead to notice, Batman and Superman rounded a corner and were gone.

Superman halted suddenly, Batman as well. A set of sliding doors drew their attention and they knew Wally was in there. The panelling around this entrance was thicker, as though protecting something important inside and, unlike the other rooms they had passed, this door had not been unlocked by the alarms. Superman glanced around looking for J'onn to get confirmation of their suspicion but he was not around. Batman was already working on unlocking the doors.

All it took was a shock to the adjacent keypad and the dark metal panels slid open. Though it had only taken seconds Superman was impatient to get inside. He had considered just smashing his way through but Wally could have been situated anywhere inside and it was only in concern of his safety that he did it Batman's way. However, his rush to enter fled at the sight that was revealed and left him frozen in the doorway. Batman had to push his way past.

The room was no larger than the quarters on the old orbiting Watch Tower but given the size of this complex it was a luxury suite, despite the minimalist décor. They barely noticed the small furnishings –the long desk with a computer terminal and a few other odds and ends, the low table with two pale blue but well-cushioned chairs. It was on the other side of the room that their attention was ceased.

In the middle of the left wall was a bed made up with pale grey sheets to match the grey walls and floor. Stains, dark areas, and splotches of blood sullied the rumpled fabrics and a pungent odour of blood, sweat and something they didn't want to identify filled the room. And there on the far side of the bed, hands cuffed and bound to the wall above his head he sat with knees drawn up and head bowed –their missing colleague. He was without a shred of clothing, what was left of his suit had been cut to ribbons and discarded around the bed. His body was littered with cuts and bruises, and trails of both fresh and dried blood streaked his skin.

Batman slowed his steps as he rounded the bed ignoring the disturbing mess which lay on and all around it. He didn't need to take a closer look to know what had happened there.

"Wally," Bruce said cautiously. Just as he crept close enough to reach out to the previously unresponsive young man threw a kick which just barely caught his shoulder. Weak as he was the kick didn't have much force behind it but Batman retreated a little taking in the vibrant and scared eyes that glared at him. In his current state Wally was no threat to them. His mind however, was fragile and it was only in this regard that Batman gave him some space.

"Get away from me." Wally's voice was soft and hoarse from lack of water and dark circles rimmed his tired eyes.

"Wally, it's okay," Batman assured. He approached again but stopped when Wally tried to move further away from him. "I'm not going to hurt you." He could see the mistrust in the green eyes and from a quick glance down he knew it was well deserved. The thought of Dox using their images to inflict this pain brought up a queasy feeling in his stomach and tightness in his throat.

Wally saw Superman approach from the doorway and broke a little more. "…go away…"

"Wally, we're not going to hurt you!" Batman nearly begged him to believe. It hurt –that Wally didn't trust them, didn't trust him –more than he ever would have imagined. It just hurt.

West shook his head. He didn't understand how Dox could be both Batman and Superman at the same time but he did know that Dox had seriously messed with his head. He wasn't sure what he could trust anymore. Before he'd just known when Dox had said or done something wrong when mimicking his friends and it caused the illusion to collapse and reveal the truth. But this time he couldn't find anything wrong. Were these really his friends come to save him or was he too far gone to question the veracity of the images presented?

Something in Wally's eyes clued Batman into the conflict brewing internally. He decided to take a risk. He pulled back his mask revealing the face of the man beneath. "You know me! I won't ever hurt you." Superman's eyes skipped between the two. Desperate for something, anything to reach the clearly frightened man he ignored the logic of whether or not this would work in favour of just hoping.

"Bruce…" Wally relaxed slightly and an answering nervous tension left Bruce and Clark. When Bruce reached out to him this time he didn't flinch. "I couldn't escape…" he half-apologized.

"It's okay, Wally." Bruce turned to Superman who still stood several feet away. "Little help," he said in his usual deep timbre.

Clark jerked out of his trance and helped slowly bring down Wally's arms as Bruce undid the manacles binding him. His skin was cool, slick with blood in some places and after a minute Clark felt shivers wracking the pale body. Batman unclipped his cape and bundled it around the slender form, murmuring to him as the end of the ordeal was realised and shock began to set.

Batman hid a sympathetic grimace as he felt Wally wince when the heavy black cape came in contact with the gashes traversing his back. Batman pulled down his mask before gently picking up the red-head. Wally continued to shake pulling the heavy material up to insulate against the suddenly cold.

"Let's go." Batman didn't wait for a response. He strode out, Superman following a second later.

The Kryptonian again paused at the doorway. He looked back at the room, at the blood staining the linens and the pool of it where Wally had been bound. At last he couldn't hold back the natural reaction. He knew it was dangerous given how much power he held but he couldn't stop it. He gave in, just for a moment.

Warm brown eyes sank to bright red as twin beams cut across the expanse. The room was engulfed in a sudden inferno, returning it back to hell.

"Go around and cut him off!" GL ordered to Wonder Woman as he and Shayera flew off into the hazy corridor. Diana took another direction and at the first intersection she took a left hoping the corridor would meet up with the other one, ahead of Vril. The grey walls and the lack of markings made the whole building a maze and she attributed Dox's escape to that.

They had doubled back in their so far fruitless search for Vril when they saw their target standing over the prone form of J'onn J'onzz. He had a disturbing weapon trained on the Martian but didn't get a chance to fire. Her fierce battle cry gave a moments warning to Vril and he turned in time to fire a hasty shot at the Thanagarian. It clipped her wing but over her falling body Diana came and struck him in the face.

The weapon slipped from his hand and fell to the floor where Diana crushed it under her foot.

"Don't worry. I have a dozen just like it," said Vril.

Wonder Woman wasn't impressed. "You're going to pay for what you did to him?"

"Really?" Dox pushed himself free of the wall he'd collapsed against. "Would that be justice or vengeance?"

A red emergency light in the ceiling flickered off and on, intermittently colouring the narrowed blue eye an anger violet. "He deserves both." Diana went after him again but Vril was ready. He threw two small orbs at her and though she blocked them with the golden braces on her forearms, a fine blue powder was freed upon impact. The powder dispersed through the air and quickly found its way into the lung of the three heroes. While they coughed and struggled to stay conscious Vril ran. He didn't make it far when the cloud of blue powder was suddenly chasing and finally engulfing him.

The Green Lantern had used his ring to make a giant fan and blown the airborne irritant towards Vril. Clear of the blue cloud the three of them heard a violent coughing fit, like the one they had just suffered from. Suddenly the coughs stopped and they knew he'd escaped. Green Lantern and Shayera braved their way through the cloud while GL told Wonder Woman to go around. She only hesitated a moment to check on J'onn but he urged her to go and she did.

The trio was halfway back to the Javelin when the corridor in front of them exploded as a body careened through the wall. They recognized the dark-haired man immediately. Superman took a protective stance in front of Batman and Wally.

Dox managed to stay upright but Green Lantern caught up to him again, one hand choking him and the other drawn back in threat of a punch. On the other side of the corridor Wonder Woman was approaching, ready to add her own beating but a sight through the dust had her gaping.

"Wally?" Diana's voice interrupted Stewart and drew his attention to the three figures coming along the corridor. Diana ran over but stopped short at the sight. Wally's whole body quaked in Batman's grasp. He could hear them around him, knew they were looking and he tried weakly to pull the heavy cape higher to cover the marks. At his knees the cape draped loosely flashing glimpses of cuts and crimson.

A second later all Wonder Woman saw was red. She rounded on Dox but not even the fury of an Amazon princess would make him cower. The corners of his mouth twitched up in a smirk.

"I've enjoyed him in ways you have only dreamt about." His oily voice slid over them making them feel somehow sullied.

Green Lantern let his fist fly holding nothing back and connected solidly with Vril's face. The Coluan slid to the floor, heavily dazed. John would have struck him again and again and maybe never stopped but commotion behind turned him around.

It was like an electrified whip. Hawkgirl had managed to block it but now it was coiled around her mace, passing painful jolts of electricity through her body. At the whips handle was Yall, unable to abandon her boss.

J'onn appeared behind the blue woman but she saw his shadow as he solidified and was ready. He rained blow after blow on the woman but she blocked them easily. In the tumult Vril got to his feet tackled the Green Lantern to the ground. He sprang off the startled ex-marine just in time to avoid an assault from Wonder Woman. A swing of his hand conjured an invisible force slamming the brunette into a wall with such strength, she left a hefty dent.

"Get to a pod!" yelled Yall as she used her special baton to shock the Martian. Most of the escape pods were gone, taken by the crew to flee the failing station, but she had made sure two were left. She didn't trust Vril not to leave without her if he had the chance.

"You're not getting away!" Superman hissed and flew at Dox. He too was slammed into a wall by Dox and a pulse of green energy from a device in his hand. Superman would not recover in time to go after him again.

"Yes, I am. And I'll take with me a piece of precious Wallace that he'll never get back."

Batman, who'd been busy keeping Wally safe from the crossfire glared at the dark-haired man and a silent pact passed between them –Dox determined to destroy Wally and the League and Batman determined to stop him and make him pay.

Dox retreated rapidly and once he was away Yall did the same, fending off any pursuit with a thick blue fog.

"We have to get out of here," Batman announced. Around them metal structure creaked ominously as the structural integrity was compromised further by the damage the fighting had caused.

Still recovering from her electrification, J'onn had to help Shayera up. Diana and Clark pushed their daze away and John used his ring to create a reinforced path back to the Javelin. Batman and J'onn headed to the back of the craft to begin treating Wally while the others went to the cockpit to fly them to safety.

Lift-off was simple but close. Just a few seconds later the structure exploded in a spray of metal and muted fireballs as the pressurized gases made a violent escape. When the silent event was over, only ruins remained of the shadowy structure.

"I've got fourteen small crafts on scanners heading away from our system," said Superman into the silence.

"Was that all of them?" asked Diana.

"I don't know." He didn't say it. None of them would but with Vril Dox's dangerous and apparently all consuming obsession with the Flash they didn't think they'd seen the last of him.

**_+JLU+ _**

Large but gentle green hands peeled away the weighty black cape. Exposed were the many injuries he'd been force to endure, but only the physical ones. The mental and emotional injuries were only hinted at by the vacant stare.

"Wally, I'm going to give you a sedative," J'onn informed the expressionless young man. Wally didn't need to be awake for what there were going to do. He took the needle from the nurse and moved to press the thin point into an undamaged part of Wally's shoulder. In a move that was fairly quick for a normal human but extremely slow for the Flash, Wally grasped J'onn's wrist stopping him.

"What is it?" J'onn asked. The blue-green eyes shifted slowly up to his red. A frown of concern flitted over the Martian face. He could feel Wally trying to tell him something through his mind and J'onn carefully extended his psychic abilities to reach into his friend's psyche.

Wally shared with him the information that he'd gained from Dox but there was a large part of his mind that he kept locked away, literally. There were the mental equivalents of locks, gates and 'keep out' signs posted in that area and J'onn respected his wishes and stayed away.

"Mr. J'onzz?" The nurse's voice drifted to him as he returned from his excursion into Wally's mind. He ignored her.

"I know, Wally," J'onn assured and felt he grip on his wrist slacken. He gave Wally the injection of the sedative and watched as he fought the sleepiness for a moment before giving in.

"Should I call Dr. Warner?" The nurse asked.

"No." Supergirl had found some suspicious activity around Warner and they'd begun covertly keeping him away from vital information. He'd not be allowed near West, not until they figured out what he was up to. "We'll do this."

J'onn pressed a button on the wall near the bed Wally occupied and the observation window into the room went dark. On the other side of the now opaque glass Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman, Shayera and Superman now stood staring at their own reflections.

The quiet room was filled with tension as the usual after-battle deliberations began. 'What if' were common and not unexpected since the risks they took often threatened their lives, but this, what had happened to Wally and their reactions to it, had come too close to threatening their delicate balance.

"Would you have killed him?" Batman asked, not needing to replace the pronoun with a name. The question was not directed specifically to anybody. It was meant for all of them.

Without breaking his gaze from the glowing green of his reflection Green Lantern answered with his own question. "Would you have stopped me?"

Not one of them could answer with an immediate and honest "yes". Some could not answer yes at all, not even in a lie.

Somewhere, at some time, a line had been crossed and they didn't know how to go back.

**End Chapter 7 – For the Cause of Justice and Mercy**

…Sooooo….. What did you think? One more chapter coming, by the way, then on to Part 2!

Sagga…


	8. Ex Libris Culpa

Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Summary: While Wally tries to get his life back on track new and old enemies make a move on the league, abducting an important member.

Disclaimer: The DC characters are not mine. I'm just playing with them. They'll be returned…eventually, not in good condition but that can hardly be blamed on me!

Author's Note: Last Chapter for this part. Yay! You're all saying. But I know you'll miss it. :D

**Chapter 8 – Ex Libris Culpa**

They'd made an announcement. Wally West had been liberated from Vril Dox of Colu and was recovering. They told the press and anybody watching the broadcast that his injuries were not life threatening but no details were revealed. They didn't tell them that Wally had been released to a local hospital for the rest of his treatment and they didn't tell them specifically what injuries he had. He'd been admitted under a false name but with his picture filling the news channels the hospital staff had recognized him almost immediately. As medical professionals they could not disclose any information about him but eventually his whereabouts did leak out.

Press swarmed the Metropolis General Hospital as soon as they heard but the patient of interest had already been discharged. Wally had simply donned a ball cap and walked out the front door, the mob of media personnel not recognizing him.

He'd climbed into the passenger seat of Clark Kent's mid-priced sedan and was given a ride to the reporter's apartment. He would have insisted on going home but there were reporters staked out near his apartment and he didn't think there was any reason to go back their anyway. He'd been informed of the break-ins and was grateful to Grayson for getting the important things out before they could be damaged or stolen.

The trip to his condo was short and silent. Clark cast worried glances every now and then to the young man staring blankly out the window. The dark blue sedan was parked in the underground garage and two passengers took an elevator up to Kent's high rise apartment.

"Make yourself at home," Clark said cheerily as he opened the front door.

Wally hadn't been here since his little regression incident but nothing drastic had changed.

"Can I call my Aunt and Uncle?" Wally asked quietly and with downcast eyes.

"Sure. There's a phone in the kitchen," Clark informed hoping that Wally would get something to eat as well. He'd lost weight during his ordeal and also during his recovery. His metabolism had again proved to be a hindrance in his convalescence, requiring high intake before even a normal rate of healing could begin. Even his broken left forearm had to be braced again. The fracture had pretty much stopped healing when he'd gotten almost nothing to eat during his captivity and now there were many more injuries to heal.

Clark didn't even think Wally was ready to be released from the hospital but he needed some time alone and he couldn't get that with curious doctors, nurses and general hospital staff always popping into his room.

He followed Wally into the kitchen just to make sure he was settled comfortably before moving to the living room.

"Hey, it's me." Clark heard the soft voice from the kitchen. "Yeah, I'm okay. No really." He attempted to infuse some of the usual energy into his voice. "How are the munchkins? …Oh…. Um, tell them I'm sorry for missing our park date. I'll make it up to them….No…Please, just tell them for me." A shaky sigh interrupted. "No, don't worry about it. I'm fine. Yes….yes…I don't kn-…soon as I can, Aunt Iris…no, just need some quiet and with those three you know there's no chance of that." He gave a hollow chuckled. "Okay, I will…cross my heart….bye."

When there was no other sound Clark worried and walked back to the kitchen. Seated gingerly on a stool, the phone still in his hand Wally stared sightlessly at the counter top.

Clark made the mistake of gently resting a hand on Wally's shoulder only to have the younger man startle violently and jerk away from him. Wally took a few deep breaths and mumbled an apology. Clark made his own apology. He should have known better.

Wally was only going to be with him overnight and then he'd be staying in a new apartment in Central City. It was being rented under Dick Grayson's name so as not to draw attention but Wally hadn't even thought to ask who was paying for it –probably Bruce Wayne.

The next day Clark took the day off to drive Wally the four hours to Central City. Clark took them in a car from a rental chain so he could drop the car off in Central and make his own way back home. Wally spent most of the trip sleeping and when he was awake there was minimal conversation.

It was just around one in the afternoon that they arrived at the apartment complex. The neighbourhood was reputed to be a little better than the one he'd been living in before but not so much that the neighbours were in everybody's business. Wally donned his ball cap and he and Clark went to check out his new place but the younger of the two couldn't really bring himself to care. Nothing about his situation had quite sunk in yet.

When Clark left an hour later Wally collapsed onto his new double bed. He lay on his side staring at the wall until finally sleep claimed him.

**_+JLU+ _**

He watched the smoke pool at the ceiling and then spread outward. The bare light-bulb mounted into the fixture on the ceiling acquired a misty haze, diffusing the harsh rays of light to a softer luminance. He raised his right arm from the worn armrest and took another drag of his cigarette. As he breathed in the acrid smoke he let his eyes drift over to his colleague, his last remaining friend.

"Must you do that inside?"

Okay, maybe friend wasn't the right term.

"Try and stop me." As irritated as he knew she was, he was doubly and nothing would keep him from enjoying the few little pleasures afforded to him in this hell-hole. "Any word?"

Yall didn't respond immediately. The silence stretched on for nearly five minutes before she responded. "Many went back. They'll face numerous charges, likely be incarcerated but they wish for home soil, and orange sky. I can't say I blame them."

"Fools. What of the others?"

"They've spread out; probably going to find real lives for themselves."

"Cowards."

Yall looked away from the screen of the computer and the covert transmissions they'd received to the man lounged on the ratty furniture. "The council will find out. They'll know what you did."

"What we did," he corrected casually, staring at the ceiling. He shrugged nonchalantly. "What can they do? The great council, the band of morons."

Thirty years away from her homeworld and Yall still held the same respect for it that she did then. It took a great deal of effort to restrain her retort but she managed.

"What will you do if they send someone?"

He laughed at the obscurity of the notion. Vril reached into a pocket of his grey slacks and pulled out a flat but irregular object. With a two fingers on opposite points he held it up to her.

"I still have this."

"The seed program? You'd start it all over again."

He just smirked and slid it back into his pocket. "You can't see infinity without wanting to touch it. You can't taste ultimate power without wanting to own it." He flicked on the television shaking his head at the poor quality picture. "I know you, Yall. Hand picked you from hundreds. Power has always been your weakness." He smiled at the image on the screen and Yall's eyes slipped to it and then quickly away. "Power and jealously."

He heard her slam the computer closed and storm out of the room. She wouldn't go far, he knew. With her blue skin she couldn't blend in with the local populous. And she wouldn't leave. She was infatuated with him and it gifted to him her complete loyalty. She would never let him go but he would never return her feelings. He had his own infatuation.

Red hair, eyes the colour of the Balar Ocean of his planet and smooth skin wrapped over firm, supple muscle. The image on the TV changed and Vril turned it off. He brought the cigarette to his lips again and allowed his mind to wander back to those stolen moments with his Wally.

Like a favourite movie, the memories slipped past his eyes. He knew what came next, new the end but it always left him breathless and excited. The smell of the blue-grey smoke was replaced by the scent of his former prisoner, on the tips of his fingers the texture of the young body ghosted past. And his greatest token of the too brief time spent with West was neither the piece of the troubled mind he'd touched, nor the parts of the hero he'd felt break. It was the purity he'd stolen.

Vril closed his eyes, gave up his reality to the reminiscence and gently exhaled.

The smoke rose in lazy ribbons to pool at the ceiling and then spread outward –gathering clouds.

**_+JLU+ _**

"How is he?" Shayera asked in a rush as soon as Superman entered the conference room.

He shook his head and sat down at his seat. "He's…quiet."

"He's going to need time," J'onn told them. "This recovery will be difficult."

The empty chair, the one with the Flash logo painted on the back seemed to stand out and many eyes were drawn to it. It was their first full meeting since Wally's return. They'd all been busy with various things, league-related, Wally-related and not. They had some catching up to do.

"We have to change his access codes," John said into the silence.

"You think he told Dox?" Diana asked. She expected Green Lantern to have the greatest faith in the Flash.

"If I had to put money on it, I'd say he didn't but we can't know for sure what was said."

Superman sighed. "I agree. His codes need to be changed."

"How about Mr. Terrific?" inquired Shayera. She'd heard that he was somehow connected with the incident in Cleveland.

"Brook and the other scientists haven't found anybody else with a response to the crystal resonance. For now, it's an isolated incident," Superman answered.

"Then why him?"

"To set the stage for his play," said J'onn. "There's no guarantee that a particular member will be sent to a particular location in the event of a crisis."

"So Dox needed to make sure Flash showed up," inferred the Thanagarian.

"There's still no sign of Dox," Batman announced, breaking the short hush.

"J'onn you said Wally gave you information about Dox. Anything we can use?" Superman asked.

"Most of the information was personal in nature so we can't use it to track him but I can tell you why –why all of this, why Flash." He looked around and they all waited anxiously for him to continue. "Vril Dox was a respected scientist on his home world of Colu, just one system over from Krypton and Argo. His planet had been under the rule of a race of machines but he managed to turn their technology against them and lead an uprising. In an effort to prevent any other race from conquering them again the Coluans looked to Dox to find a way to keep them safe. He created a program that would collect unique information from other civilizations and bring it back to them."

Superman leaned forward in his chair, pieces beginning to fall into place in his mind.

"To the program, however, unique meant that there could only be one copy so once it retrieved the data the original was destroyed. When the Coluans realized what was happening they sent Dox and a team to stop the machine but he didn't. Instead he followed it in its travels, clandestinely downloading information that had been collected and using it to further his power and his knowledge. They had been doing this for the past three decades and had only been stopped when the Flash destroyed their program."

Stunned silence met the end of his dialogue. They glanced at each other.

Shayera spoke first, a question. "So, Dox, he created Brainiac?"

J'onn nodded. "He saw Brainiac as his greatest triumph and when the Flash destroyed it just as the program was reaching the pinnacle of its existence, it was his greatest defeat."

"So he turned his obsession onto the Flash," John surmised correctly –another repercussion of the battle with Lex/Brainiac. This nightmare was never going to end. The ripples will just keep growing, John thought sadly.

Nobody had anything to add right now and one by one they left until it was only Diana, Bruce and Clark left in the room. Clark sat hunched over, the heel of his hands pressed against his eyes. Bruce stared at the wall opposite him. Diana frowned in great upset at the table.

"I don't understand." Batman glanced to her. "Why hurt him like that?" Nobody had said anything about Wally's injuries but she'd figured it out on her own. "Why take something intimate and …and use it as a weapon?"

Clark seemed to sink further into himself at the question and didn't answer; he didn't have any to give her.

Eventually the Dark Knight responded in a low voice. "Rape is about power. It's about proving who has it and who has none." He didn't spare her the brutal crux of the matter, didn't sugar-coat it. He would not make something so terrible, easy to swallow. He didn't even blink when he saw the beautiful blue eyes become glassy and the tears well. She left a moment later.

The light from the corridor was again blocked by the doors sliding closed leaving the last two in a low-lit room matching their dulled spirits.

"This isn't your fault, Clark."

It was several seconds before a raspy voice replied. "It's not yours either." He gave a derisive huff. "But that doesn't make either of us feel better, does it?"

**_+JLU+ _**

To be honest the idea of celebrity had never appealed to him. It had been great for the Flash, a persona that he could discard when he wanted but not for Wally West. He enjoyed the pleasures the quieter side of his life brought. He'd even needed the respite from the fame of being the Flash, but now it was gone.

News channels were still reporting about him, the Flash, the League, Dox. He watched reruns of old newscasts, interviews with his friends –former friends now –and something began to give inside of him. He flipped to a cartoon channel and watched the animated characters run around and fall into overly complicated traps. Somehow it wasn't as amusing as it used to be.

He turned off the TV and stared at the black screen, at his reflection.

A heavy knock on his door startled him out of his reverie and a cold panic wrapped around him. He pressed a hand over his heart feeling the rapid beats. Sweat pricked at his forehead and he recoiled when the knocking came again.

His eyes were closed, he was spinning in a waking nightmare but a familiar voice brought him back to the here and now.

"Hey, Buddy? You okay?" It was John. He didn't use his name, lest the neighbours hear. With more confidence than he felt Wally walked over and undid the two locks in the door and stepped back. John opened the door himself and locked it behind him.

"Hey," Wally greeted. He tried for a smile but the panic hadn't worn off enough.

"Hey, yourself." He gave Wally a reassuring smile and held up the bag of take-out he'd picked up. Both he and the bag were a little wet from the rain that had just started but was already coming down pretty heavily. "Got us some grub. You hungry?"

Wally knew what his usually response would have been but he just shrugged and walked to the far side of the couch to sit down. He turned the TV back on but didn't pay it any mind. Instead he was tracking John, his best friend, like he was someone not be trusted. He couldn't help looking for things that could be wrong, something that would break the illusion but nothing happened. He didn't expect anything to happen, not after the first day of his scrutiny turned up nothing, but he still couldn't help looking. He wasn't sure he would ever stop.

"Wally," John's voice startled him back to the present.

"I'm okay," Wally said hurriedly but the colour draining from his face said otherwise.

John put down the container of pasta he'd been holding out to the kid. "It's going to take time," John said lamely.

"I said I'm fine!" The anger flared and just as quickly was gone.

John looked down at his hands. He wasn't sure how to handle this. Post traumatic stress disorder wasn't new to him having suffered from it and watched others suffer from it but in those cases the trauma had not been inflicted so personally.

"Wally, what happened to you-"

"Nothing happened!" The anger mounted and erupted before John could finish. West tried to quell the shivers by wrapping his arms around himself in a protective hug. John remained silent, unsure whether to leave Wally to his denial.

He swallowed thickly and spoke again, trying to bring comfort and security. "It's okay, Wal."

"No! Nothing is okay!" West pushed away from the couch and stood up. "Just shut up and leave me alone!"

"You know I'm not going to do that," John said evenly.

"You did before! You guys just left me with him! You didn't care!"

"That's not true," John protested and tried not feel hurt by Wally's words. He was bound to lash out at someone and right now he was closest. "We never stopped looking." Something in what he said broke through Wally's wild anger.

"…the caesium…" Wally whispered and John watched uneasily as something coalesced in the kid's mind.

"Yes. We followed the trail to the explosion site."

"I did that."

John gave him a half smile. "We figured that."

Wally turned his back to him realization dawning. He held out an arm to brace himself against the wall. "It's my fault…"

"No!" John practically leapt from the couch.

"I did this…" Vril's words tumbled through his mind: 'You made me do this.'

"Wally!" John spun the young man around to face him but the eyes were vacant, lost in some too-fresh horror.

"…my fault…" The hands shaking him finally registered and he staggered back crashing against the wall, just next to the window. "…if I had…sooner…I did this…"

John rounded on him again. "This is not your fault!" Large dark hands gripped his shoulder almost painfully. "You didn't do this!"

"I…I…"glassy confused eyes stared at dark ones trying to find an answer that made sense.

"What happened…" John swallowed his own distress, "…what he did…it wasn't your fault." He felt Wally begin to shake as the dam cracked. "You didn't deserve that. It wasn't your fault."

Tears began to trace the features of the gaunt face. His chest began to heave with deep stuttered breaths. "…oh God…" Wally mouthed silently. John eased his grip on the shoulders and suddenly Wally collapsed against him. Sobs shook his thin frame as John eased them to the floor.

"It wasn't your fault," John murmured as he gently held Wally. "…it's not your fault."

Pale, shaking hands gripped John shirt. "…oh God…what he did to me…" he cried into John's chest. The shaking grew and John held him tight, trying to hold them both together as Wally finally fell apart.

"…oh God!"

"It's not your fault, Wally," John whispered and felt tears slide down his own face. "…it's not your fault."

Outside the window, on the other side of the wall, a dark spectre stood on the fire escape. A steady downpour of rain cascaded over him as he listened to the sobs coming from inside. Each cry tore at him removing strips of composure and only the darkness and the cloak of his cape hid his shaking hands.

They'd been too late. He'd been too late. He'd failed. Clark was right. Knowing it wasn't his blame to take didn't make him feel any better. Who was to blame then? An alien with no empathy? A cold, uncaring universe?

He turned his face up into the cold, stinging shower. If he shed any tears they were drowned in the rain.

"–not your fault."

**End Chapter 8 – From the Library of Fault**

**End Part 1: Even Heroes Bleed**

Thanks for reading! Thanks doubly for reviewing. Your responses meant a lot to me. Part 2 won't be out for a few weeks, probably about the same amount of time between Part 0 and Part 1. I think that was about 4 or 5 weeks. Now…press the review button at the bottom. :D

Sagga…


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